Mind,Body, and Soul: The Parisian Connection
by Hobnob-rev
Summary: With Kara Fang dead, Kim Possible and Shego thought they were finally safe... but the Blood Jade do not forgive or forget. Now, as their relationship continues to develop, they will face the coming storm. And on the horizon something watches and waits...
1. Chapter 1

"Kim Possible" and all characters within © The Walt Disney Company and its related entities. Kim Possible created by Mark McCorkle & Bob Schooley. All rights reserved.

Su and Song Xie Ye-Yu, Mara, Shia Fang, Kara Fang, Jasmine H'dara and all characters not of KP canon present in this fiction are part of the Mind, Body, and Soul universe and are the property of Hobnob-rev.

Warning note: There "may" be some British spellings in this, as I am, well, you know… British.

* * *

**Mind, Body, and Soul: Book Two **

**The Parisian Connection**

Chapter one: New beginnings.

Agent Kappa was not a happy man.

Of course, that wasn't his actual name. It certainly wasn't the name that his mother and father had given him on his birth certificate. It was, much to his growing anxiety, a name that he may end up being buried under, considering the information contained on the clipboard that he held tightly gripped.

For Kappa, real name Stephen Dooley, recalled what had happened to his friend, Delta, when he had been the bringer of bad news to the leader of the Worldwide Evil Empire. Indeed, he was beginning to wish, all those years ago, that he'd followed his own advice after being rejected for employment by Global Justice.

Of course, he still puzzled over why they hadn't wanted him. He'd been fresh out of the police academy with high honors, raring to serve the public, and had thought GJ, with all of its perks, would be perfect.

To be turned down by the one-eyed woman who had sat on his employment review board, and just for being interested in mimes and their art form too? Well, it was an insult to be considered unemployable for such a reason.

Indeed, he had half a mind to give up his law enforcement career right there and then to seek the wisdom of a mime master, until that WEE flyer had been shoved under his door.

'We love employing those GJ rejects for _any _reason!" it had said, and underneath in a scrawled hand. "Even people who love mimes are welcome!"

The benefits had been excellent, as had the pay. Some of the health and safety clauses had baffled him, but he'd still applied and been snapped up. That had been three months ago, and now he was far wiser. The reason WEE needed so many people was due to its leader and his… _particularly_ unique reaction to bad news.

Glancing down at the figures- the horrifying large expenditure figures- of the paperwork, he thought he'd be lucky to survive another four or five minutes. If he was _very_ lucky, he might make it an entire half hour. This feeling grew as he arrived at his destination. Imposing double doors, etched with the WEE logo, and above that a single name.

Gemini.

Swallowing, Kappa found himself pondering something he had always tried to ignore as he pressed the entrance button.

_Where _do _those tubes that Gemini plunges people who have failed him into, actually end up?_

"Enter!" The voice growled with irritation and impatience.

Oh yeah, Kappa thought as he stepped in. He _should _have followed his own damn advice. _Always remember, Steve, follow the corporate money, and always choose a comfy desk job in the future!_

* * *

The Forgotten temple

Deep in the forests of China, near the Tibetan border, lay an overgrown temple. Decayed by thousands of years, the large square cut lumps of stone that made up its walls had become overgrown and intertwined with weeds, tree branches, even trunks of saplings that had grown over the ages. The effect had ruined the sheer stone walls it had once possessed, and the temple now looked as if it were fighting the forest to stay upright.

The road had once been covered in white marble; marble that had lead right up to the main entrance. Now, over time, it had also become pitted and damaged, ripped up by questing tree roots, or broken into tiny fragments as the hundreds of years went by, along with the changing seasons. Now, it was practically unreachable by any wheeled transport, and even any human or animal trying to make their way to the temples vast disintegrating bulk would find it challenging.

The front of the temple was just as pitted and overgrown as the sides and rear, the same vast slabs of stone pushed out of place or damaged and collapsed. None of that, however, lessened the impact of the massive and imposing face of a monkey etched into the front wall, its mouth opened in a scream to reveal the thick stone doors that allowed entry, its tongue the steps to reach them, and the teeth forming part of the eleborate door itself.

Nobody came here now, not a single soul with any sense. Those with less sense were now nothing more than dust or the decaying remains of skeletons slumped along the dark interior, prevented from their intentions by ancient traps that still worked, even now, to crush, impale or kill in any way they could.

No, nobody came their now, and the secret the temple protected, that of the ancient art of Monkey Power remained undiscovered.

Or rather, it had.

"I don't believe it! Not her! I can't think of anyone _less _likely to end up changing for… for her!"

Lord Montgomery Fisk, the world renowned villain Monkey Fist, paced the dusty flagstones of the temples main hall with impatient steps, his mutated monkey feet slapping rhythmically in time with his knuckles as he did so. Angry dark eyes stared into the gloomy depths, taking in the various forms of his monkey warriors, before turning to stare at the face on the computer.

Next to him, Bongo the monkey adjusted the tiny satellite dish with minute precision and then hit a few keys, allowing the fuzzy image to clear a little. The face of Senor Senior Senior stared back, calm and composed.

"I mean… her!?"

"Yes, my friend, you keep saying that. You have been saying the same thing for over ten minutes now. My answer remains the same. Yes, her."

"But, Shego? Actually _working_ for Global Justice?!" Monkey fist growled. "Why?"

"Well, the why I can tell you in a second, but yes she is working for Global, my friend. Currently she is attacking a criminal organisation with their blessing. I understand she is fixated, for now, on destroying a group called the Blood Jade and-"

Monkey Fist span, excitement warring with horror. "The Blood Jade? You… you said the Blood Jade?"

The old man nodded. "Yes, it has been in all the papers, my friend. For over four months. I am surprised you have not been informed yet." Senior tapped his cane on the floor. "From what I was able to gather with Junior's aid, it would seem the Blood Jade wished to capture Kim Possible and use her as an agent in their attempt to infiltrate the United States. Shego had been part of that plan as well. It seems the leader of their group had a grudge against her, and intended to destroy Shego after she had captured Kim Possible for them."

"Amazing…" Monkey Fist murmured. "So they do exist after all."

Memories of whispered rumours came back to Fist as the name 'Blood Jade' continued to echo in his mind. Of the years before he had obtained the monkey statues and Stoppable had stolen power that was rightfully his! Time spent in china and Japan. Smokey dens, where the ruthless, the cruel or the downtrodden had come to drink, take drugs, or just exist. They had been revered as much as hatred… but always feared as a power. Many would only dare to speak of them when tucked away from the crowd and far from prying ears.

"_They can kill you as easily as others breathe. They are shadows. Always with you, but never seen as they only come out at night. If you wish to serve them, then you probably have, only never known it. If you wish to become their enemy, then you will die. It is that simple."_

Oh yes, the lure of the Jade had been a powerful one while he had searched endlessly for the statues and the power he desired. His attempts to join them had come to nothing. Any lead, no matter how strong it sounded, had often vanished like smoke when he reached out to grasp it. Finally he wondered if it was because he was a gaijin, and eventually Fist had given up and gone his own way.

But now, they had been dragged into the light by Possible and Shego of all people! They really did exist!

"Such an incredible turn of events." He paused and then frowned. "But why did Shego end up helping Possible?"

"Mutual interest for the beginning, I am sure. GJ claims that Shego was attacked by them, almost killed. She employed Kim to aid her to survive _and _to prevent the Jade from getting the foothold they wished." The old man shrugged. "Then it becomes conjecture. Needless to say, as I have told you, the villain network is abuzz with this. Shego and Kim are… an item."

"What? You only said they were working together!" The ninja stared at him in disbelief. "You didn't say _anything_ about Possible and Shego being… intimate!"

"I apologise for not being clear." Senor Senior Senior replied, shrugging. "As I say, I am amazed you have not been aware of the situation. It has been the leading report in the papers for about two months. Indeed, it only settled down recently. Well, mostly. Though I hear some of the less… reputable newspapers have a running, well let us call it a bounty, to obtain the first set of pictures of Shego and Kim Possible being together in public." The old man smiled. "They have been less than accommodating, though my own sources in GJ report that they have been dating, though discreetly."

"You have to be joking." Monkey fist almost pleaded. "She's bad enough with that Pretender, Stoppable. If she ends up having Shego as backup…"

"They will be quite formidable, yes. I have to admit though; I must give Kim yet more respect as a hero, Shego too as a villain." Senior held up the book he had bought on classic villainy. "The villain succumbing to the heroes charms. A most popular and classic choice. I must send them flowers or champagne as a token of my respect."

"This is terrible news." The lord of monkeys felt his shoulders slump, ignoring the older man's amused chatting. "Look, I am afraid I need to leave as I wish to meditate on this… development. I'll see you around, Senior."

The screen flashed blank and Fist turned away from it with a groan, jumping past fallen blocks of masonry to flop dejectedly into an overgrown and creeper infested throne.

_Impossible, impossible!_ He thought mind spinning. _Kim Possible and Shego… how did this happen?! A cheerleader and a mutated plasma flinging freak, together as a couple. Dating of all things! _Monkey fist leaned back, his fingers steepled under his chin. _While that connection provides a possible area of attack, even against Stoppable, it has to be said that they'll be a dangerous force to go up against if I do attack them. Monkey ninjas or not._

_Shego is another matter as well. Slightly less skilled than Kim, true, but she makes up for it with sheer strength and power thanks to the comet. Kim of course is not as strong as Shego, but she's as fast, and is slightly more dextrous when it comes to martial art moves. I will have to do something to destroy this union of theirs, if I want to claim my right to Stoppable's Monkey power. _

"Eeek?" Bongo intruded into his thoughts, and Fist sighed.

"No, Bongo, just thinking about that little bit of information we have received. Shego and Kim, together, it is a frightening prospect for any villain."

"Ah, Lord Monkey Fist." A young female voice echoed into the hall, making Fist and his monkeys leap up with a start and cautiously stare around themselves. "It is terrible, is it not? Kim Possible and Shego working together, loving each other, fighting together? They are dangerous alone, together they are something else entirely. They become a lethal threat to people like us…"

Flipping off the throne, Fist slid into his often practiced stance of Monkey combat. It kept him loose, limber, and ready to intercept any attack that came at him with both hands and feet. Glancing around, the ninja lord dashed for one of the huge stone columns and slid behind it, eyes taking in the dusty plaza of the temple, seeking any movement at all.

Whoever it was, had to be close. The voice had echoed slightly, but not enough for the speaker to have been in another part of the temple. They certainly were not outside as none of the shining shafts of light, beaming into the plaza from the holes in the damaged walls, betrayed the outline of someone looking in.

"Having trouble, Lord Fist?" The voice was amused. "We have been trained as well as you, and though we do not possess Tai Sheng Pek Kwar, we make up for it with other… benefits."

"What the… who are you?" Fist called, trying to locate the source of the voice, peering around the column.

"You know who we are, Lord Fist." Another voice, almost the same but slightly - ever so slightly - different echoed around him once more. "We are on the same side, you and us. The side of villainy, theft, and seeking power."

"Really? Then you'll have no problem showing yourselves. That is, of course, if we _are _on the same side." Fist's words echoed into the suddenly empty hall and the Monkey master ambled forwards on his fists, away from the security the column provided. "Suddenly you seem very reluctant to reveal yourselves to me."

"We always are." The voices spoke in unison and Fist blinked at their amused tone. "For the Blood Jade has always struck from the shadows, Lord Fist. To need another's help is… new to us. As is the level of trust required. However, as we do request your aid, we shall show ourselves."

Waiting patiently, Fist stared, lips pursed, at the temple plaza for a good minute. Nothing moved, other than the breeze making the creepers and vines leaves shake. Finally, he shook his head. "Yes, well. Fascinating to have met you."

"Look behind you, Lord Fist." The voices told him in unison, so close Fist could swear they stood next to him.

Spinning, he let out a gasp of surprise as two small teenage figures dropped from the rafters above him and landed with barely a sound onto the dusty flagstones. Masks were pulled back and the martial arts expert stared at the two young faces that were revealed underneath.

One bowed. "Greetings, Lord Fist, from the Blood Jade." She said, her partner pulling out a yo-yo and flipping it into its motion while she stared at him. "We require your aid…"

"Oh really? And what do I get in return?" Fist demanded, folding his arms. "And let me tell you, my dear, that the payment will not be cheap. I am not akin to working with others, so shall expect to be compensated for such a… annoyance."

"Ah, we understand. Our master has authorised us to offer you a one off payment of thee million in untraceable bonds, with an additional payment on top." The two figures exchanged glances and a box was suddenly thrust into Monkey Fists hands. "This gift from the Blood Jade vaults will be part of it, stolen from Yamanouchi a long time ago."

Monkey fist cracked the box open, and his eyes widened. "I thought these were myth?"

"No, Lord Fist, they are not. They exist, created by a disillusioned Tai Sheng Pek Kwar master back when the art was young. You know their history though, I am sure. Cursed for generations, and the downfall of many a master or mistress who allowed themselves to love another. Yes?

"Amazing." Monkey Fist grinned. "Stoppable is _mine_!"

"Ah yes," The two figures chimed in. "This is the other part of the payment we offer. The destruction of Ron Stoppable and an undisputed claim as monkey master of Tai Sheng Pek Kwar!"

"And what do you want for such payment?" Fist asked, closing the box and staring at the short figures in front of him, one of them still spinning a yo-yo up and down its string.

"Oh, we wish you to aid us in destroying Kim Possible and Shego. Using Ron Stoppable and his weakness is part of that." Fist laughed and the figure tilted her head as he grinned, an ugly sneer rippling across his long face. "I take it that this does appeal to you?"

"Tell me more."

* * *

Sun Resort: Island of St Thomas

"You know, when I used to dream about getting my hands on you, Princess? This wasn't quite what I imagined."

Kim Possible, teen hero and now student at Middleton University, managed to lift her head off the warm wood of her sun bed and turned to stare at the figure sitting on the edge of her bed with a warm and amused smile.

A parasol above her protected the hero's face from the glare of the Caribbean sun, while the rest of her had been protected with sunscreen. A protection that was now an hour old, which had caused said figure to move to where she now sat, next to the redhead.

"Yeah, but it's better than you originally used to think, right?" Kim murmured, her green eyes twinkling with amusement. "I mean, hello? You've finally gotten to see me in a bikini, Shego. I recall a certain pale green-skinned thief has been practically drooling to see me in one for over a week."

Shego, her long dark green hair pulled into a slick ponytail and dressed in what she laughably called a bikini herself - though Kim still thought of it as two pieces of black string with four tiny panels of green fabric just sufficiently big enough to _not_ cover her curves and make anyone looking realise that the woman was practically naked – slid her elegant sunglasses down her nose. The emerald eyes behind them twinkled with desire and amusement.

"Oh, this is way better than I used to fantasise about, Kimmie." Shego reached out towards the redhead and gently ran her ultra sharp black nails down Kim's spine, forcing the hero to arch and purr at the sensation despite herself. "And can I say that green suits you?"

Kim snorted, knowing full well that allowing Shego to decide on the bikini she would wear while in the Miami boutique before they had departed had been playing with fire. The hero now wore a neat and stylish two piece, formed from a lot more fabric than Shego's admittedly, but still allowing far more of her skin to be on show than Kim herself usually even imagined being comfortable with.

The top piece was formed by two pieces of light green fabric, with a slit centred down the middle designed to give just a glimpse of the wearer's cleavage, something Kim was still struggling to not be embarrassed by. The rear was practically backless, held up by nothing more than a single, and thin, stand of cotton. Kim felt it was a design flaw, considering the woman next to her had nails that could slice through steel if she wished, and took no greater pleasure than running her hands across Kim's body.

The bottoms to her bikini were even worse. The front and rear were less revealing than her girlfriend's, but only slightly, considering they were formed out of two tiny triangles of black fabric. The reason Kim felt they were outrageous was due to the fabric itself rather than the shape of the bottom piece. The triangles _did _cover her more… private areas compared to Shego's, but the fabric, even dry, gleamed as though wet, and clung to her body as if it were painted on.

Shego had loved the sight of Kim when she had come out of the changing room. Loved it so much that she'd let out a long, low, and aroused whistle that had caused the hero to flush deeply and give her an uncertain smile. But because the thief had loved it so much, Kim had allowed her to buy it and had promised that she would wear it on the beach instead of the demure, and slightly frumpy, red suit she had initially packed.

Now, as the nails slid under the thin strand that held her bikini in place, the redhead angled her head into a warning expression. "Behave."

"Aww, I don't wanna." Shego whispered, grinning. "I finally get to have you all to myself, on a beach no less. It's hard not to imagine slowly undressing you until I can see that hot, athletic little bod of yours."

Kim flushed and tried to ignore the strange flutter in her belly that always came with Shego's comments about her body, but she did stutter her lover's name. "Sh... Shego! Behave!"

"Okay, okay." Shego sighed and with a smile picked up the sun tan lotion from the table that sat between their sun beds. "How about you let me rub some of this on instead? Pleeease?"

The redhead rolled her eyes, but smiled and flipped her own sunglasses back up before lying back down on the sun bed with a contented sigh. "You're spoiling me on this holiday, Shego. But knock yourself out, I need the protection on this sun-trap you call an island."

The thief chuckled and, squirting a generous portion of the sunscreen into her hands, began to gently massage the oily fluid into the tanned skin with gentle circular strokes. As Kim shivered and let out a groan of pleasure, Shego's strokes slid from a circular motion into a long smooth ripple up and down her lover's spine, fingers spanned to rub against the muscles of her abdomen.

"Oooh," Kim groaned, her shiver intensifying.

For herself, Shego focused entirely on the act of rubbing the cream into Kim's skin, and enjoying it as much as possible. Chuckling, she savoured the way her own arousal was slowly growing, as the redhead underneath her bare hands writhed and groaned with pleasure. Groans that deepened at the skilled, smooth, slow strokes of her slick hands. Groans that made Shego smirk and move them lower.

She skirted the band of Kim's bikini bottoms, but did allow a single finger to just dip inside the black fabric, eliciting a gasp and tremble from Kim, followed with the young woman moving to get up. A move that Shego stopped by gently pressing down on the small of her back.

"It's okay, Kimmie. I told you, when you're ready and not before." Shego felt muscles as stiff as iron relax just as quickly as they had tensed and she smiled, murmuring reassurances to her lover. "I just want to… tease you a little. Trust me, okay?"

"I… sorry." Kim managed, trying not to bite the pillow as she felt Shego's single finger roll gently along the fabric. "I… I thought you were going to take them o-"

"I said when you were ready, Kim." Shego moved her hand away from the band and admired the slick, gleaming tanned skin she had left behind. "I mean it. But I wanna touch you. I like touching you while you're relaxed, kay?"

Kim did not reply, and Shego took that as a sign of her trust. Choosing a leg, the green woman squirted more sunscreen into her cupped hands and then trailed them along Kim's thigh with deeply focused intent.

For Kim, it was an act that caused such intense sensations she was forced to bite her pillow for real, clamping down tightly and muffling a growl of passion and excitement that would have made Shego grin. Instead, the muffled sound only had the act of making her lover slip lower, fingers rubbing, stroking and slickly running down across her lower leg to her foot.

"Stop…" Kim managed, biting her lip as Shego gently lifted her foot and stroked a single finger around it. It was becoming far too much for Kim to cope with and she wondered how she could possibly handle Shego continuing with her torturous massage.

"Not just yet…. Relax Kimmie. That's why we're here. Let me make you feel good."

Kim gave up, her head collapsing like jelly onto the pillow as Shego replaced the single stroking finger with three, all slickly rubbing the underside of her foot while the heel of her right hand made circular motions into her heel.

"Oh god…" Kim managed, losing herself to the feeling. "I… Shego, please!"

"You know, a foot has loads of pressure points all over its surface, Kimmie." Shego murmured the words quietly as she worked. Rubbing, kneading, and enjoying herself immensely. "I remember someone mentioning that to me a long time ago, and I remember the various places that let someone relax, release stress… even cry out with pleasure." The finger located a certain spot and, covered in the slick cream, pressed. "Your mom said I was to make you relax, so let's see if this works."

Shego watched her lover literally flop on the sun bed, all motor control leaving her as pleasure spilled through her body. The calm that followed it made Kim groan with release, as months of stress and worry began to seep away.

"Feel nice?" Shego whispered, gently letting Kim's left leg rest back on the soft foam of the bed's cushion. The faint nod she received in reply made her smirk. "Good, now for the right."

"Oh!" Kim gasped, and then whimpered as Shego's fingers began their work once more. "You're good… I… mmmn."

"I know. Just lean back, enjoy it, and let me have my moment of pleasure too."

Eventually, after another ten minutes or so, the green woman took in the totally relaxed, gleaming, and sexy form of her new lover with professional pride and a certain amount of love. It was rare anyone, especially Shego considering she used to fight her, to see Kim so utterly at peace. It was even rarer for anyone to have the skills, or the trust Kim would need, for the hero to reach such a state.

For the green woman who gazed at her as she wiped the remains of the sun cream onto her beach towel, it was gorgeous to see it. Kim was gorgeous to see _in _such a state, and Shego sighed with a faintly lusty sound.

"I have spoiled you, Kimmie." The green woman told her, earning the faintest of nods. "But then you're on holiday, your birthday gift no less. I think you deserve it."

Pressing a kiss to Kim's neck, the green woman rolled back onto her own sun bed and leaned back, sunglasses in place, and savoured the sunlight hitting her unprotected skin. She felt the same tingle, as intensely pleasurable as always, ripple though her body as it took the solar energy and began to convert and store what it wanted, and smiled.

_Sun, sand, a light breeze, a mutated body that won't sunburn or get cancer, and a redheaded woman who I really desire right now. Yep, life is good. It'll take a lot to screw today up._

"Hey, Jude, look!" The female voice, high pitched and self important cut through the air close to Shego and Kim, making the green thief sit up in surprise and yank down her sunglasses.

There, standing on the beach with a faintly revolted and excited expression, stood a tall blond woman of about twenty. Her icy blue eyes took in the sight of Kim, before switching Shego and she curled her lip even as another woman, this one also blond but with brown eyes, joined her.

"See those two?" The blue-eyed blonde told her partner in snobbish tones that had her partner turning to take in Kim and Shego. "The redhead and the pale woman?"

"Yeah, Stacy, I do." The other blond replied, frowning. "What about them?"

Stacy smirked and Shego frowned as she opened a small pouch on her waist. "Those two are Kim Possible and Shego."

Her name being mentioned finally had the redhead turning slowly on her sun bed, still fighting the lax set of her muscles thanks to Shego. Finally lying on her back, Kim raised her head and took in the two women with puzzlement, then glanced across at Shego to see her clenching a hand.

"Kim Possible, oh you mean the 'hero'?" Jude rolled her eyes. "So what? They're probably here to take in the sun, Stacy. Come on, we're here to pick up guys! Let those two do what they want, considering they're nothing compared to us!"

_Oh great. Blonde, arrogant yet dumb, beach girls. _Kim thought, wishing she wasn't being forced to will her body away from the relaxed state Shego had managed to give her. _Just when I was really beginning to enjoy myself._

Shego for her part growled quietly. _Oh look, I'd call you sun worshippers, but then that would insult people like me…how about bimbos instead?_

"Wait, wait… I _have _to get their picture!" Stacy pulled out a camera from her pouch. "Don't you remember, Jude? These two are those _dyke _heroes! I bet they're here to ogle each other in their swimsuits and get off rubbing lotion on each other. The papers would pay a _fortune_ for a picture of them like this and I'll be the one who gets it!"

"Damn!" Shego hissed, moving to slide off her sun bed, only for Kim to quickly reach out and stop her.

"No, Shego, wait. It's not worth the hassle."

"Kimmie, we're on holiday and I refuse to let some bimbo blonde in a swimsuit take pictures of us enjoying ourselves! Without your or damn well my permission!"

"Shego," Kim began to plead, but it was too late as the green skinned woman vaulted off her lounger and began to stalk towards the two women next to the beach.

Jude stared in horror as Shego stomped towards the two of them, an angry and aggressive scowl on her face, and she tugged Stacey's hand. Her friend looked up with annoyance from where she was playing with the digital camera's storage options, ensuring the pictures she had taken were there, and her own face paled at the sight in front of her.

"Shego!"

Kim's voice echoed behind her, but the thief paid it little attention. She loved Kim, loved her a hell of a lot, but this was something the hero wouldn't understand. Shego considered her life, and her lovers' life, private. It was a knee jerk reaction, created all those years ago when her private life was violated as a hero by the media. She was damned if the two morons in front of her would photograph her or Kim in such a private and personal time.

And if it meant she had to break a few arms to pull the camera free and slag it? Well then, so much the better and it would serve as an excellent lesson to anyone else.

As she got within five feet of the two frozen women, her hands just beginning to shine a barely noticeable green glow, a voice called across from the other side of the beach.

"Ladies, do we have a problem here?"

All three heads turned, and three sets of eyes took in the burly beach security guard who strolled slowly towards them. For two, the sight was a welcome relief and offered protection. For the other, it was an annoyance at best.

"She's going to beat us up!" Stacy shrieked, pointing at Shego who tilted her head and stared neutrally at the blond. "She wants to destroy my camera!"

"Ma'mn, is this true?" The guard, a good six foot two inches and well muscled, raised his eyebrows and stared at her with dark chocolate eyes. "You know that the Sun Plaza is exclusive, we would frown on any guest getting involved with… brawling. Especially those that start such matters. You could be asked to leave."

"I don't want to start anything." Shego told him, her voice cool through years of training by Marie. "I just want the picture she took of myself and my lover to be deleted from the camera. She has no right to take a photo, and surely your employers would be unappreciative of the consequences of such a photo getting out to the media. I mean, a lot of famous and private people, especially Britina at the moment, come here. What would they think?"

The security guard pondered this and nodded, before turning to the two blond sun seekers. "Ms…"

"Shego." The thief replied pleasantly.

"Ms Shego has a point, ladies. I think it's only fair that you delete the photo and we'll say no more about it." He folded his arms and the two blond women went into a huddle together, turning away from the guard. After a few moments, he coughed. "Ladies?"

"Fine, fine!" Stacey snapped, turning back and twisting the camera to show the screen recording the images stored in its memory. With a few button presses, the six photos she had taken of Kim and Shego lying in the sun were highlighted. With another button press, they vanished and the camera reported they had been deleted. "There, happy?!"

"I am. Ms Shego?"

"Well, I'd have liked a little more common courtesy in regards to my privacy, but I suppose I can't blame these two for not only looking but also wanting to take a picture." Shego smiled toothily. "After all, I'm drop dead gorgeous, and Kimmie is a rare beauty. I don't blame you two for dreaming about us together."

The look of horror on the two girls faces warmed Shego's heart.

"Shego, everything okay?" A very familiar voice asked quietly from behind her, and the green woman quivered slightly as a hand gently touched her shoulder. Turning, she smiled at Kim, who glanced at the scene in front of her with slight apprehension.

Yeah, Kimmie, it's fine." Shego waved a hand at the guard. "This guy's been really helpful." She cupped her hands together and yelled thanks at the guard, who turned and smiled, giving her a mock salute. The thief grinned. "I really like that guy."

"Oh, right." Kim managed, feeling her anxiety lessen slightly. "Um, so everything _is_ fine then?"

"I believe so." The guard murmured, before bowing slightly at Shego and the redhead. "Ms Shego, ma'mn. Enjoy the rest of your stay." He turned to the two blondes. "Ladies, please don't take any other pictures of guests other than yourselves and enjoy your holiday too."

Both sets of women watched him walk off quietly, and then- as Shego continued to gaze at the two blondes- Kim tugged Shego's arm. "Hey, I need some more sunscreen."

"Really?" Shego purred, making Kim flush. "What an excellent distraction you've suggested, and how wonderfully therapeutic." She glanced across at the blondes and grinned. "Ladies, if you'll excuse me, I have a sexy redhead to tend to."

"What… ever," Stacy sneered, before gripping Jude and striding up the beach in a flurry of blond hair, skimpy bikini material and- if Shego were any judge- about three pounds of silicon.

"Coming, Shego?"

The thief glanced back and took in the sight of Kim's barely clothed form with a shiver of lust. The redhead cocked her head and looked thoughtful, making Shego raise a single elegant eyebrow.

"Not yet, but keep that up and we'll see, princess."

As Kim flushed and turned back to walk up the beach, Shego glanced one final time at the slowly receding figures of the blondes, and then paused. Every single one of her thievery skills and senses was screaming at her as she looked at them.

_Something about the way they're walking… about the way the other one, the one without the camera, is walking…like she knows something, or is laughing about an inside joke. _She frowned, her green eyes taking in every single nuance of Jude's body language. Suddenly, she saw it. A flash of plastic and the _gleam of metal, passed_ from Jude to Stacy.

A memory stick.

"Well hell! She copied the pictures and passed the stick to her friend!" Shego hissed, lips curling back across her teeth as she watched the two women begin to laugh, slapping each other on the back and looking smug. "Oh, this is going to require payback! No way anyone's getting away with that sloppy little trade while I'm around."

"Hey, Shego?" Shego glanced back and hurried up the beach to where Kim stood, hands on her hips and a worried expression on her face. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Shego told her, sliding onto the beach chair. She patted the wood and held out a hand. "Cute redhead bottom on here, bottle of sunscreen in my hand please."

Chuckling, Kim slid next to her on the seat, not noticing that Shego's gaze quickly slid from her to keep an eye on the two women as they headed back to the complex.

_Come on, I'd rather not have to track you two to the hotel room you're using. Though, I would love to accidentally shred and burn every single belonging you have. But, I'd rather make this a quick and clean little ass kicking. _

"Lotion." Kim whispered, placing the bottle gently into her hand, and making Shego glance across. Her lover was flushing a deep pink and, despite the thoughts of revenge running through her head, Shego couldn't help but admire the beauty in front of her.

"Okay, Pumpkin, lie down for me." The top was spun off the bottle and as Kim lay down on the warm wood, the cool cream gently trailed a cold bead across her warm skin. The redhead quivered, her body responding to the sensation, and then arched as Shego's skilled fingers began to knead and rub her flesh.

"Oh, darn it, Shego." Kim whimpered. "How'd you get so good at this?"

"Practice, and don't you bother wondering with who. Just enjoy it." Shego whispered, indulging her. Kim giggled, only for the sound to slide into another groan as Shego rubbed harder. For herself however, the thief's eyes never left the two figures in the distance.

As they turned into the beach bar, the green woman smiled with predatory intent. _Gotcha._

"Oooooohhh," Kim managed, the strokes of Shego's hands suddenly becoming rougher, far lower in their strokes along her body, and certainly more insistent. As Kim arched, she felt her lover's hands dip low once more and tug at the hem of her bottoms. "Shego, don't!"

"Mmmn. I'm busy here, Princess." Shego whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to Kim's neck, her eyes gleaming with unholy plotting. Watching the deep red blush run across Kim's face, she smiled. "Hey, how about we cool things down a little with a drink? It's hot out here and I'm kinda thirsty. How about you?"

"I could drink something cold, really cold." Kim murmured from her prone position, discreetly tugging the loose cloth of her bikini bottoms back up. "What'd you have in mind?"

"Service with a smile," Shego told her, picking up a towel and rubbing her hands clean of the oily cream now coating Kim's upper and lower back. "How about a nice cold virgin pina colada smoothie for you, and a nice long island iced tea for me?"

"Why do you get to drink an alcoholic one?" Kim complained, glancing up for a second. "Why can't you have a virgin too? That is _so _unfair!"

"Because I'm over the age of twenty one, Kimmie," Shego told her absently, her eyes fixed on the bar. "And also because your mother would kill me in _very_ interesting ways if I let you have a drink in a country where you'd be underage. I love you, but not _that _much. Now then, a virgin Smoothie. Yes?"

"Fine." Kim huffed and shifted slightly on the lounger, sighing in contentment while her body radiated sloth. "Want me to come with you?"

"Was that even a serious offer? Because if it was, Princess, then I'm very touched by the offer, but no. I think I'm a big enough girl to get two drinks from a bar."

"Okay." Kim leaned back on her lounger and then smirked. "Speaking of being a big girl? I'd, um, wear something a _little_ less revealing. Well, that's if you want to actually be served instead of drooled on."

"Ha, ha." Shego muttered, glancing down and rolling her eyes. Grabbing the thin green sunshirt that she'd bought with her onto the beach, the thief shrugged into it, and then flashed a smile. "I'll be back in a few minutes, Kimmie."

Watching the redhead nod faintly, Shego slid her naked feet into a pair of dark olive green sandals and then moved out from under the parasol to stride across the hot sand. If Kim had been able to see her face, she would have recognised the sly smile that played across the dark haired woman's features.

A look of a predator chasing prey.

* * *

Location Unknown

"So, our first stage is set in place."

The voice echoed around the vine strewn courtyard of the temple as two darkly clothed figures exited from its depths. One pair of chocolate eyes glanced back at the collapsing archway, and they narrowed.

"Su, I wonder if we do the right thing. Lord Fist is not Jade, and he wishes one thing, and one thing only. He wants to be the sole user of this 'Monkey Power'."

Song Xie Ye-Yu, the weapon arm of their combined force, glanced nervously at her sister, Su Xie Ye-Yu and watched as she frowned.

"What do you suggest we do then, sister?" Su asked, scanning the jungle. "Possible San and Shego San are dangerous when joined. The same is to be said for this Ron Stoppable and the traitor, Yori."

"I understand why we do this. I agreed that this is one of the ways possible." Song turned back to her sister and, together, they began to walk into the dense vegetation. "I agree that we must break them up, isolate them and then strike. That was Kara's mistake, and her eventual destruction. She angered Possible San and the people she worked with, and they used their strength with this Global Justice to ruin Kara's plans and make her pay for the pain and suffering in her own blood."

"But?" Her sister asked, her tone curious. "Explain to me what I may have missed."

"I am unsure the deception is needed. By doing this, we open ways for the plan to fail. We must hope that Shego and Possible will react as we hope. Will the threat against them for not obeying be sufficient? Also, Fist is dangerous to work with. He is unstable and obsessed with obtaining power. Not working to better the Jade as we are. What is to stop him from stepping ahead of schedule or ignoring our plan entirely?"

Song Xie Ye-Yu paused and watched her sister mull it over, the intelligence behind her eyes - the cool and calculating mind - examine everything for flaws. Su had always thought differently about matters and always was the one to plan, while she herself focused on the purity of the combat required. It was one of the reasons they had always been successful in the targets they were given.

"Fist will do what we ask, as we asked. Because despite of all of his flaws, he is not a fool. Possible and Shego, together as a team, will destroy him if he attacks. Fist knows this. And with Stoppable now joined by Yori, his chance at securing the power he thirsts for is negligible considering our research on their encounters. He knows that the only option is to destroy both unions. And each provides the means to fragment the other. The way we offer also gives him the power he desires as a bonus."

"Yes, I see that."

"As for Kim Possible? The ultimatum will be definitive. Fist has agreed to what we request, as I expected him to. Kim Possible's profile indicates she will react as I predict. She is quite basic in such matters, despite her strengths. As for Shego? She will do what Fist demands as well, as she loves Possible deeply. So, we will watch, wait and observe. If all goes as it should, then we strike. If not, we re-plan and re-strike. Master did not give us a time limit, and rushing to achieve her goal without considering flaws was Kara's path to failure."

Su smiled, and Song nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, reconsidering, this seems to be the best option. The moment we attack the whole, it will know and take steps to defend. By using Lord Fist as the tip of our spear, it will be too late for them to prevent the thrust we intend."

Su Xie Ye-Yu glanced back at the temple, her lips curling the smile into a sly smirk. "Yes, sister, and remember that should it become necessary, Lord Fist is essentially expendable. Once he has distracted Possible, we can do the rest. If the strike is successful, she will simply self-destruct. Love can be such a terrible weakness "

"So, we really do have a plan then."

"Yes," Su chuckled and her yo-yo, never far from her side, began to whirl in the silence of the steamy jungle. "We will succeed where Kara failed… So on to our next step, dear sister. It is time for us to track down Kim Possible and Shego so we can gather what we need."

"Yes, intelligence for this will be vital, as it always is in our calling."

And while we are here, we also need to wreak havoc on Global Justice's own knowledge of the Jade."

"Ah," Song chuckled. "Infiltration. Something I can finally enjoy."

Their combined laughter echoed around the silent vegetation.

* * *

Sun Resort

Shego stepped into the cool air-conditioned atrium of the Sun Plaza's main beach side bar, and her emerald eyes skilfully swept the various tables and chairs around the bar space as she hunted for the two blondes.

"Hey, Shego!" A voice called, making the pale green woman glance over at the bar and, more importantly, at the person serving behind it. Her eyes widened in delight and she strolled over, her gaze still analysing the various faces around her. Reaching the bar, she hopped onto one of the stools propped neatly along it and waited for the barman to stroll over.

Dressed in a long green shirt that barely hid his muscles, and wearing light blue slacks that only barely covered the impressive bulge of his crotch, he would have been an imposing sight. Until, that is, you took in the soft and cheerful face and welcoming blue eyes that stared at you.

Shego knew him. "Hey yourself, Stuart. Didn't think I'd see you here after the last time we met."

The man grinned. "Well, you know. I did apply for that position you told me about, but eventually I found it not to my liking." He picked up a glass and began to polish it. "Villainy wasn't my cup of tea after all."

Shego shrugged. "Worth exploring, right?"

"True. I never did thank you for letting me hitch a ride in that sweet green convertible. Or for that matter, actually telling me who to speak to about joining the rank and file." Stuart smiled. "Never did understand what you saw in me, handing out those strawberries at the billionaire's resort."

Shego chuckled and shrugged. "You had a great ass. You were really nice to me and not condescending like the others. Heck, you had potential… I could see that when you dealt with that little prick photographer who managed to swim ashore."

Stuart chuckled in return as Shego shook her head. "Well, you know. Part of the job and all. Still, won't miss working there. You would have thought billionaires would tip well. Turns out the only reason they _are _rich is because they're stingy."

The pale woman raised an eyebrow. "You including me in that statement?"

"No of course not. You were generous with the tips. Which is why I thought you deserved strawberries and my… personal attention." Stuart watched Shego flush a deeper green. "We had some fun, right?"

"Yeah…" Shego managed and then looked up. "We did, but I gotta say that I, ah, well… I'm not looking for a repeat of that event. It was great, and seeing you here, that's also a great surprise!" she told him quickly. "But I've found someone. Someone special."

"I heard." Stuart grinned. "I've seen her too. Cute little redhead, right? Body to die for, poured into that little black number of a bikini, and- correct me if I'm wrong- but also happens to be a hero in the real world."

"Don't rub that in, Stu." Shego waved a finger slightly and Stuart shrugged, trying not to laugh. "But yeah, I have and she is a hero. One hell of one too." Shego paused and sighed. "You got a problem with that instead?"

"Me? No." Stuart stretched and his muscles rippled under the light green shirt. " I told ya, the whole villainy angle wasn't my bag. So, don't worry about it, Shego. Seeing you hook up with Kim Possible isn't a problem for me. And, having seen her? Can't say I blame you at all. She's beautiful. Has the whole sexual magnetism in spades, though I don't think she realises it."

"Yeah, she doesn't have a clue." The thief mumbled, trying to push the image of Kim, naked and gleaming, out of her mind. "But I meant more that I'm playing for the other team right now. You got a problem with that, considering we bumped hips once?"

"Nah!" Stuart laughed. "I knew it was a one off. We agreed that it'd be for fun, nothing serious. It was, and I enjoyed it." He winked. "I think you did too. That's good enough for me. Anyway, you've found someone you really like now, someone more interesting to you than a few days of fun. So, now just consider me your friendly barman." His smile eased her tension. "So, pretty lady, what can I getcha?"

"You're a good man, Stuart." Shego told him quietly, and then turned her attention to business, her face creasing into an evil smile. "I'm looking for a pina colada smoothie – better make it a virgin – a non virgin long island iced tea, and two blondes. One with an expensive camera and both with really snotty attitudes."

"I see." Stuart murmured. "Why, when I look at your face, do I suddenly feel the plaza isn't carrying enough insurance?"

"Oh, come on. You know me better than that."

"No, I really don't. Not after I heard all the rumours about the great Shego, mercenary thief and sidekick for hire back in my own villainy days." He leaned close. "Look, I partly own this bar, okay? Please don't break anything or burn anything or anyone. I don't need the bad press, and the resort really doesn't." He paused. "What'd they do?"

"Took a couple of pictures of me and Kimmie sunbathing, both of us practically goddamn naked like I am now. Bitch was screaming in joy about how she was going to sell 'em to the tabloids." Shego's hand rapped on the bar, and Stuart winced at the etched marks her super strong black nails left in the marble. "I want to have a little… chat."

"I see." He nodded. "I'll tell you where they are, if you promise no bloodshed or destruction of my property. I'm sorry, Shego, but I have to. I like you, but I like my job as well. I have a good thing going here, with decent tips."

Shego nodded. "Okay, deal. No violence and no bloodshed. At least not here anyway. Now, where are they?"

Stuart waved a hand. "Round the back, out on the sun trap I call a veranda. They've got two muscle hunks with them, right off the beach too. You can practically smell the sunshine and lack of intelligence." As the thief chuckled, he held up a finger. "They may be dumb, but they're built like brick houses, Shego. So watch your back and keep it cool. Oh, and remember, no damage or assault. Please?"

"No problem." Shego rose and cracked her knuckles. "There's more than one way to deal with a nosy little bitch and her camera."

"I'll have your drinks ready in a few minutes. Want to pick them up here?"

"Sure. I'll only be a few minutes."

Standing, Shego wandered across the floor of the bar to where a large set of glass fronted double doors let the warm sunlight from outside play across the tables and chairs. Frosted to ensure privacy on both sides for patrons, Shego couldn't see her two targets.

With a shrug, the thief strode though the doors into the gleaming sun and heat of the beach and glanced around. There, giggling and flirting outrageously with two, as Stuart had described, muscle bound hunks sat Stacy and Jude.

Shego's smile became unholy, and she walked quietly towards the table, green skin almost glowing as her hands curled slowly.

"Why if it isn't Silicon Stacy and her friend." Shego purred, making the two females jump and look over to see the thief wandering over to them. "Ladies, I'd like another word if that's okay."

"What'd you want now, you weirdo?" Stacy snapped, as Jude sneered, while quietly shifting her chair closer to one of the hunks. The two men glanced around, their mildly puzzled expressions confirming Stuart's opinion of them.

"Me? Oh, that's simple." Shego told her, idly flipping one of the chairs out from under the table lip and sliding into it. Crossing her legs, the thief was the very image of calm. "I just want you to say sorry."

"What?" Stacy managed, bursting out laughing while her friend began to snicker. "You want me to say sorry?"

"Yup." Shego made a great deal of inspecting her nails while willpower battled with anger. "I came here for a little privacy, a little relaxation, and personal time with my lover. You screwed that up by being a little prissy drama queen. So, now that the picture's been erased, I want one more thing. As I said, you're going to apologise to me now…"

"Or what?" Stacy countered after checking to ensure the two hunks were still there.

"Or I'll go away and do something that means I'll have to put up with my pumpkin yelling at me for a good day or so. Trust me, that's not a pleasant thought, and gives you a good idea how much I'd go to get that apology."

The two blondes stared at Shego blankly, and then Stacy sneered. "Listen you pale green freak, my daddy partly owns this resort! And all the staff know who I am, and that I'm to be respected!"

"Your father owns the resort?" Shego asked quietly. Inside, her mind whirled and began to formulate other plans. "So, you're not a guest then."

"Of course not!" Stacy snapped, her colour high on her cheeks. "I have my own personal parking space and a Porsche that I use when I come here from Los Angeles! I'm not apologising to some freaky dyke with a skin problem!"

"I see." Shego replied coldly, making the two hunks flex their muscles in preparation. Despite their lack of competent brain cells, they knew trouble when they saw it. Shego was practically seething with cold danger. Standing, she stared at Stacy with narrowed eyes and smirked. "Then we have a problem here, one that I'll need to go and think about."

"You can't hurt me!" Stacy snapped, waving a hand. "Even if you wait and do it some other time, everyone will know. I'll tell everyone about who it was who hurt me!"

"You think they'll find your body?" Shego asked, grinning widely. So widely, that the two hunks took a step back. "You know who I am, right? I've been in the papers a lot."

"I don't read Rug Muncher Monthly!"

"Oh, keep it up. Please. "Shego's hands curled and her smile turned unpleasant. "But if you've been keeping up with the media, you'll know I'm no hero. In fact, until I fell for her, I used to fight Kim Possible to a stand-still. As well as steal stuff, outfit government agencies… beat people up for a living. I worked for a guy called Drakken… used to be one of the worlds most wanted. Do I ring a bell yet?"

Stacy's face drained of colour as her mind rolled back over the information she'd heard about the two women. Suddenly, with the so called 'redeemed' villain in front of her, the blonde remembered how dangerous the TV reports had made her out to be.

Stacy swallowed "You don't scare me! The cops'll be on you in two seconds!"

"But for those seconds, I could have a lot of fun. You have no idea how much I could accomplish with your innocent little body in two seconds." Shego's smile became feral as the two hunks shared glances and stepped back away from the two girls, much to their horror. Laughing unpleasantly, the thief leaned closer. "Give me one good reason to not pound you two into a greasy stain while I-"

"Ms Shego?" Stuart's voice called from behind her, his tone carefully respectful. "Your drinks are ready."

The green woman turned and as the two blondes watched, fear etched into their faces, she nodded slowly. "Hmm, now then… drinks with Kimmie, or pounding two brain dead morons to teach them a lesson. Which do I prefer?"

"That leads me to another thing. Ms Possible is looking for you," Stuart told her quietly. "I've got her waiting in the bar. She's relaxed and happy but I'm not sure that mood will remain if she has to sort out this… incident."

Shego nodded, inwardly cursing that she had obviously taken too long and her lover had come to find her. "Okay, fine." She turned to the two women. "You're lucky I'm in such a good mood and… hey, nice camera." Her green eyes flicked down to where the expensive device sat on the table. "Good thing you erased that photo of us. I'd be unhappy if that got into the media… _really_ unhappy!"

The two friends glanced at each other and Shego watched the subtle shudders from them with interest. Inwardly, however, she noticed the camera sitting on the table and began to concentrate on manipulating her plasma energy.

"Yeah, well you made me delete it!" Stacy snapped.

"Sure, but it's a really good thing that your camera didn't have a memory card in it. I mean, imagine if it did and it accidentally got stored." The two women shared another glance and Shego smiled toothily. "Could be a problem for Kimmie and myself then. Imagine all the taunts and jeers. It'd be embarrassing and upsetting."

Suddenly, Shego clapped her hands together with an incredibly loud bang, making the two women jump, the blood draining out of their faces. "If it had been stored? Well, I'd be incredibly pissed off, and when that happens, heh, I sometimes forget how strong I can be. Still, I know you two didn't do that, so that's sorted out at least. Lucky for you, eh?"

"Shego?"

Kim's soft voice, full of worry as she recognised the two women Shego stood next to, and their matching expressions of poorly hidden fear, echoed around the courtyard. Shego turned at surprise call of her voice, and took in the redhead as she stood next to the bar's double doors, wearing a lightweight cotton shirt over her bikini. Her uncertain expression as she took in the scene told Shego volumes about how worried Kim was becoming.

"Um, what took you so long? I only wanted a drink."

"Sorry, Pumpkin. I just saw these two and thought they still owed us an apology for ruining our day." The thief told her quietly.

"They haven't ruined anything." Kim told her softly, recognising the intent in Shego's eyes. "Not a single thing. They will if you beat them up, as I'll have to stop you from hurting them or end up bailing you out of jail. That'll ruin my holiday. All of it."

"Kimmie, I-" The thief turned to gaze at Kim, battling with instinct and the pain that Kim's soft words had caused. She didn't want to ruin Kim's vacation, or her own… and were the two bimbos worth it after all? "I just wanted to have a chat and-"

"They don't have the picture they took, and they're certainly not important to me or you. Come away from them, please?" Kim interrupted, biting her lip.

Would this be their relationship now, Kim wondered? Shego always flying off the handle, and Kim asking her to back down every single time? The hero nodded mentally. Well, if that was the price, then so be it. She loved the green woman more every single day. So yes, she'd pay that price.

"Come away, Shego. They're not worth a second more of our time. Really!"

The thief sighed, and then glanced back. "Okay, Kimmie. You're right. They don't have the pictures they took." Shego ignored Stacy's poorly concealed smirk and focused on hiding her own crueller one. They had no idea what she'd just done. None. She turned to Stacy and shrugged. "Never even got you to say sorry either, silicon."

"For what? Not liking dykes?" Stacy sneered.

Shego growled at that, but Kim quickly strode forward, pushing past Stuart and gripped her arm. "No. Don't."

"Fine, Kimmie." Shego managed, reaching out to end up arm in arm with Kim, the gentleness of her movements surprising the redhead. "You're right as always. They don't matter and you do. Our holiday does. Having fun most of all. Let's leave these two morons to their own stupidity."

"Thanks, really." Kim whispered, tugging her. "Come on, we have ice cold drinks, a beach and a hot sun waiting for us."

Nodding, Shego followed, pausing for just a second to turn back. "Hey, one last thing."

"What?" Stacy snapped, while Jude fanned herself and drank heavily from a bottle of beer.

"You better look after that camera. That type of model? Well, I've read an article where it says sunlight can cause the thing to fry itself. Badly. You wanna keep it out of the sun."

"Go blow yourself or your girlfriend!" Stacy told her, pulling her camera closer. "This is my daddy's camera! It's very expensive and indestructible! What would a pale freak like you understand about it?"

"Right, right." Shego told her, this time tightening her own grip against Kim's as she felt the redhead tense to turn and lay into the blond herself. As Kim looked up, the insult for her lover clearly in her eyes, the thief shook her head. "Just saying is all. But if you just wanna insult us, then we'll go."

As herself and Kim stepped into the cool air of the bar, the thief glanced over at Stuart, who had followed them back inside. She shrugged. "Sorry, I… I found it harder than I thought it'd be."

"I guessed." The broad-chested man agreed. "Mind you, that one? She's got a filthy mouth on her, and her attitude could do with some adjustment. I'll let you know something. I really do find myself wishing that she'd end up paying for the way she acts towards us and the other guests."

"Shego, nobody should call you a freak!" Kim hissed, her own eyes still blazing. "I don't care what they call me! Dyke, lesbian… whatever! But nobody should call you a freak for being green, and-"

"Kimmie, forget it." Shego told her quietly. "I've heard far worse, and as long as you think I'm hot and beautiful, I'm good. Other people's opinions mean nothing to me. If they insult you though, then we have a problem. I'll not have them insulting my princess!"

"I'm not bothered by that." Kim told her, her own voice equally quiet. "They can say what they like about me, and some of the papers are. But as long as my family and friends are with me and on my side… as long as you're here, then it's so not a drama."

"Well, there we differ." Shego whispered, and gently kissed her on the forehead. "Nobody insults you, but me and… Ow!" She complained suddenly as Kim scowled and whacked her hard on the upside of her head. Scowling, Shego continued. "And as I was saying, oh my angry little princess, certainly not the damn media! Considering you keep ignoring my advice and fighting the good fight, I'll not have anyone hurting my Pumpkin that way when they owe you so much. Ever."

Kim closed her eyes, trying to keep a handle on the situation. "Shego…"

"I mean it. I've got your back, no matter who's yelling at you." Shego pretended to look thoughtful, while surreptitiously rubbing her head where Kim's hand had smacked her. "Well… except for maybe your mom, 'cause she scares me a little and I won't get involved if she is. Or your dad too. He kept scowling and muttering 'black holes' in my direction before we left. I think it could have been because he saw the bikini I wanted you to wear. Seriously, Princess, you've got some parents who know how to intimidate. Oh, and those brothers of yours. I'd prefer not to have my car reworked into rocket parts, thanks."

"Okay, okay!" The quips did exactly what Shego hoped, and Kim smiled. "Funny woman. So, are we done here?"

Shego nodded and smirked, rubbing her hands with glee. "Oh yeah, we're done here, princess. Back to the beach, yeah?"

"Sounds good."

As Kim walked out and Stuart handed her the drinks, Shego leaned forwards. "Stu, a quick word please."

He leaned down. "Yeah?"

That wristwatch of yours, it's not digital, right?" Puzzled at the non-sequeter, the blond hulk nodded and the thief sighed. "Good, because I was worried I'd have to pay for a new one."

"Eh, why?"

Glancing over her shoulder to make sure Kim had left, Shego gaze became devilish. "When I slapped my hands together? Well, they made a hell of a bang when I did, right?" He nodded and Shego smirked. "That's because the air was displaced violently by the small plasma flare I was generating between them."

"Plasma flare?" Stuart knew about her plasma powers before she'd dropped him off at one of the recruitment centres for villainy, had heard even more rumours while he'd been there, but it was still fascinating to hear her talk about them. "What, you mean like some sort of ball made up from that that energy of yours?"

"Yup, about the size of a small orange. When I slammed my hands together, I compressed it, causing it to collapse and discharge the energy." She smiled evilly. "Upshot is that, basically, I turned myself into an EMP burst of about four or five metres."

Stuart stared. "EMP? Electro magnetic pulse… just like in the movies? You can actually do that?"

"Yeah, of course I can. My power _is_ a type of energy, and it does what I say. Well, mostly. EMP fries electrical stuff that's not shielded. I use it to destroy anything with a computer chip such as watches, TV's, cars… digital cameras."

"Wait! You fried Stacy's camera? Her fathers' platinum camera!? All six grand of it?"

Stuart stared at Shego with an expression of disbelief. Disbelief, which swiftly morphed itself into an amused respect for the thief.

"Yup, the whole thing's not worth a damn except for the metal it's made from now."

Stuart began to chuckle. "Oh, oh my. Her father's going to go insane! Stacy certainly will when she tries to turn it on. Oh, man! So _that_ was the deal with the whole 'keep it out of the sun' gig, right?"

Shego nodded. "Always cover your ass, Stuart. I told you that back when you were joining." Pausing, the thief leaned in close. "By the way, she said she had a Porsche. Is it always parked in the same bay at the resort?"

"Yeah, it's a blue one and… woah!" Stuart stared at her with a worried expression, an expression that switched to alarm as she winked. "What do you-"

"Think she has insurance that'll cover it being damaged? Not that I've any intention of doing that… Well, not yet."

The blond barman stared, pointed at her, and began to laugh outrageously. "Does Kim have _any _idea how unredeemed you are?"

Shego stood proudly, a smile on her face. "Nope! She thinks I'm all goody, goody now. How little she knows that she's still hooked up to the same evil thief she fought all those years. I'm just on my best behaviour so I get to ogle that hot young bod." She paused and her gaze narrowed towards the doors. "I told her, nobody insults her or invades her privacy… except me."

Shaking his head as he picked up a cloth, Stuart began to wipe the bar. "You always make my life interesting. So, go on. Get out of here, ya crazy thief and enjoy those drinks… and Ms Possible."

Winking, Shego strolled out of the door into the blazing sun and hot sand. Her hands reached for the sunglasses she had left hooked to the string of her bikini and slid them on, before striding up the beach to catch up with the redhead in the distance.

"Hey," Kim told her as she felt Shego's arm slide into the crook of her own. She glanced over and rolled her eyes at the sight of Shego balancing the metal tray with their drinks on the palm of one hand as they strode together. "Showoff."

"Only if you haven't got the skills, Pumpkin." Shego chuckled and as they reached the two sun loungers, she carefully slid the tray onto the table with a flourish. "I _am _that good. Not a single spilled drop."

"I have to say, I am impressed. And boy, it is hot out here!" Kim paused for a second and then plucked a piece of ice out of the glass as bobbed gently on the surface of the smoothie. Sliding it gently between her lips with a slow, sensuous movement, the redhead let out a sigh of contentment. Shego blinked, shivering slightly as Kim's lips gently played with the ice, a gentle suckling that had the green woman's eyes widen slightly as fantasies began to slip into her head. The redhead continued to play with the ice, and a single bead of cool water trailed down her chin and along her slender neck, making Kim's skin prickle with goose bumps. She giggled, the sound slurred around the ice. "Ooopshhh…"

"Pumpkin, you're doing that deliberately, aren't you?" Shego muttered, wishing her libido wasn't so easily stoked to burning point by the woman next to her. "That was purely designed to set me off."

Kim plucked the ice free, her expression unreadable as she stared into its crystal clear depths. "Maybe… but then you _do _keep saying I'm such a prude. Would I really do that, torture you like this?"

Shego thought about it for a second. "I'm rubbing off on you. Well… my attitude is anyway. So yes, you would. And if I let you keep doing this, the moment I try to have you, it'll be no touchy Kimmie again, which will tick me off and leave me horny. So I'm not falling for it and I'm gonna go find something cold to cool off with."

_Like a quick swim to the Arctic…_

"Well then," Kim purred, her fingers pulling another lump of ice free and pointing it at Shego's barely covered form. The redhead took a step forwards, her grin making Shego back up and she smirked with amusement. "I'm going to keep heading in the same direction right now, and I think you'd better be prepared to run."

"Wha…" Shego's eyes narrowed even as she took a second step backwards while Kim advanced, and held up a single finger. "I can still kick your ass, Kimmie, girlfriend or not. You do anything with that ice on my hot skin and so help me spankings will be given ou-"

"Hey!" The voice broke into the heating sexual tension between them and Shego heard Kim sigh in disappointment. Turning, they both took in the flash of blond hair and jiggling silicon with dismay.

"Oh no, what does she want now?" Shego snapped. "Can't a moron take a hint any more? Doy!"

"Let's just ignore her," Kim suggested. "Maybe she's yelling at someone else."

"Hey, green bitch!" Stacy screamed, making Shego inwardly reflect that, no, she was heading for them. "What did you do?!"

As the blonde stamped up the last few feet of sand and propped her hands on her hips, Shego rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses and made a mental note to carry on with her original plan. Though if she did, it would mean both she and Kim would have to make a slightly hasty exit, at least if only to prevent Kim from figuring everything out. Ah well, she could always pull her intentions to convince Kim to visit the city of Paris forward by a couple of days.

Coming back to the here and now, the green woman turned her attention to playing the innocent bystander.

"To what?" Shego asked her, sliding onto her sun lounger and glancing at Kim as the redhead followed her idea, and stared with annoyance at the blonde in front of her. "What do you want, silicon Stacy?"

Stacy bristled. "My camera! It's broken and you _did _something to it! I know you did!"

As Stacy shrieked at Shego, Kim's eyes snapped over to the dark haired woman and fixed her with an intense gaze. Shego wisely left her glasses on, making her able to avoid Kim's searching gaze, and snorted.

"I told you that camera had trouble in the sun. You didn't want to listen to me and-"

"You busted it" The insides smelled of hot metal and stuff! The battery was leaking liquid and _all _the pictures that I'd taken of my holiday are gone!" Stacy growled, stepping forwards and balling her fists, only to pause as both Kim and Shego tensed. Stupid as she was, and as bullying as she was, she recognised muscles that could pound her into unconsciousness with little effort. Instead, she threw the damaged camera into the sand at the two women's feet. "I want compensation!"

"For what, good advice that you ignored?" Shego smirked and leaned back. "It's a tough life, and I like to think that you've just met poetic justice, you evil little witch. You took our picture without permission to sell to the media, and probably kept a hidden copy on a memory card that you passed to your pal while having that little 'discussion' earlier."

Stacy's mouth worked for a moment. "H…how did you… I mean, that's a total lie!"

"Whatever." Shego told her, knowing full well that Kim was suspiciously beginning to put two and two together. "Deal with the fact that, for once, the universe bit you on the ass. And because of that, you lost your little camera."

"I'll… I'll sue!" Stacy stammered, her face a deep red. "I'll… I'll…"

"Leave and never come back?" The green woman suggested, her fingers dipping into the ice in Kim's glass and, holding it lightly in her palm for a second, suddenly crushed it violently. Shards spattered over the sand. "Because my temper, and I have a short one as people will tell you, is rapidly wearing thin, you trumped up little bimbo!"

Screaming, the blond ran for the bar as she cursed and promised revenge from her father. Shego watched with contempt as she vanished into the distance, only to blink and glance over as Kim coughed lightly for her attention.

"Shego…"

"What?"

"Oh, come on! Her camera just 'happens' to stop working and is damaged beyond repair, and you had nothing to do with it? Please, it's _so _obvious you did something."

"You wound me, Kimmie." Shego told her, flipping her sunglasses down to stare at Kim with a innocent smile. "I didn't touch the damn thing, not a single finger."

"You didn't?" Kim asked, her voice hopeful but suspicious.

"Never laid a single hand, digit, or even brushed it with my skin." The thief idly flicked her long dark hair. "Not a single strand of my hair touched the damn thing."

"Oh," Kim flushed red. "Sorry, force of habit."

"Think nothing of it, pumpkin." The green woman smirked as Kim lay back on her chair and sighed with contentment. "Think nothing of it at all…"

_And one day I'll tell you. _Shego promised inwardly, thinking of how annoyed Kim would be._ Yeah, one day… about four years later, on my birthday too… while you're drunk. _

* * *

WEE- Location classified.

"Thirteen and a half million!" Sheldon Director screamed at the seated figure that once more remained partially obscured by the shadows. "You've spent thirteen and a half million in three months!"

"So?" The voice replied quietly, amused.

"That… you… damn you!" Sheldon roared throwing the file containing the figures across the table. "My organisation is not some… some _piggy bank _for you to take funds from! Not without results, actual results!"

"We will obtain results." The figure shifted. "Very soon as well. I estimate that if construction continues for the next six months, the device will be completed and then we shall be ready."

"Six months? My sister will be breathing down my neck in six months!"

"But not for very long after."

Gemini scowled and moved forwards alongside the table, but paused as movement once again set his teeth on edge. Once again, a pair of eyes regarded him with cold calculation, and he felt, rather than saw, the muscles of the figure the eyes belonged to, tensing to strike. Reining in his temper, he growled.

"Fine, so you say. But, if I may ask, what exactly am I bankrolling here?" He motioned to the list. "Eighteen tonnes of high grade cadmium, fifteen pounds of titanium, niobium, and fullerene tube material. High tensile wire… super-cooled liquid helium. I mean, that's just a small portion of the things on here. Then we have the stolen items." Gemini flipped the page. "We've received some classified government equipment to do with super-colliding, a high frequency laser system, and something from the Japanese government that controls high energy fields. So, what's it all for?!"

The woman shrugged. "A device that will level the playing field for WEE and then crush it completely. Along with Team Possible, your sister, Global Justice… everything."

Gemini snorted. "I've heard that before as well."

"Yes, but not from me. I promise you, Mr Gemini, that if this venture is successful, then you will have a force join yours that you cannot even begin to imagine, resources beyond your wildest dreams, and finally the world - and everyone in it - in the palm of your hand."

Gemini's eyes gleamed with greed. "You believe this device will really accomplish that?"

"I do."

Sheldon Director stood slowly from the conference table in the darkened room and nodded. "Very well, take what you need. But I expect results as soon as possible."

"Oh yes, Mr Gemini, results are what I wish for as well." The figure watched him leave and quietly nodded to herself. "Yes, results are what I want. But they may not be what you expect."

Turning, there was a flash of red as she stood up from the chair and strode to one of the figures that guarded her every waking moment. The eyes slid to where she stood, the gaze dull yet focused.

"Watch him, you understand? I want to know if he suspects anything that could affect us. Any single thing, yes?" She ordered, and the guard nodded, bowing. "Good, and send your compatriot to my quarters. Time is rapidly becoming something we are running out of. To counter this, all three of us must work harder to our goal, so I have a mission for her that I had planned for her to do later, but which now must not wait. I want her to steal something for me while Global Justice, Possible, and WEE are all distracted."

There was another nod and the figure walked swiftly from the darkened room leaving her mistress to stand quietly and plan the next phase.

* * *

Sun resort

The sun had set on the island paradise, leaving a balmy warm night and a clear sky. The moon shone brightly, its reflection dancing along the ocean as the waves swept over the darkened sand.

At the edge of the ocean, neatly sitting on pontoons, and attached to the main building via a long covered walkway, sat the Sun resort's main open-front restaurant. Comprising of a skilfully woven palm leaf roof, and seductively lit with candles and modern styled lamps that gently played across tables, chairs and their occupants with a soft golden glow, it was a perfect place for couples with a romantic urge to bathe in the atmosphere of simple intimacy.

The soft light, Kim thought to herself, certainly made the beautiful woman in front of her look even more exotic and otherworldly. Her green skin played with the golden glow, softening her skin and drifting teasingly across the long dark hair.

She looked like some sort of demon, or angel… maybe a spirit of some sort, unnaturally and perfect in her beauty.

Kim sighed._ Oh yeah. I have it bad…_

"Kimmie?" The smooth voice cut into her thoughts and the redhead blinked. Her lover, fork poised over her identical appetiser of soft prawns and some sort of delicious sauce, smiled at her expression.

"What?" Kim managed.

"You've been staring at me for about three minutes." Shego told her quietly, amused. "I don't mind really. But, um, that little helping on your fork has been threatening to drop onto your dress for a good minute. So stare all you want, Pumpkin, but eat your food. This stuff looks like it'd be hard to get out of clothing."

"I… I wasn't staring!" Flushing as her lover raised an eyebrow, the redhead bit down on the morsel on her fork. Swallowing, she mumbled. "Okay, I was… just thinking about…well, how beautiful you are."

"And staring at me." Shego teased, picking up her wineglass and sipping the lightly coloured white. "I don't mind if you do, Pumpkin. After all, being a couple as we are, you have the right to as much ogling as you want."

"I know… and that wasn't why I was thinking about how beautiful you are. It was more personal than that. More about me and how I see you and I… um…"

"Kim?"

"Everything's changed so quickly for me… for us. I look at us now and I can't believe it." Kim whispered looking up and sighing as Shego frowned. "Before you say anything, it's been much better for both of us, I know that. What I mean is… I love being with you, I love how it is between us now, and I'd never go back! No matter what! But… I… I…"

"What?"

"Was it my fault we lost so much time?" Kim blurted, making Shego pause in as she forked up another morsel and stare at her in shock.

"Kimmie, what the-"

"I keep wondering, when I look at you now and just see how _sexy_ you are, how I possibly could have missed it back when we fought for all those years?" Kim poked at the food on her plate and Shego watched her nibble her lip with anxiety. "I notice stuff about you now I never did before, back then."

"Like?" Shego managed, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Oh, well. The way your hair swishes when you walk, your long legs, the curves of your body. I… I find everything about you so… hot and sexy. But more, I love the way you laugh and smile, the way you tease me, everything… All of that's different to how it used to be. I can't help but see everything about you in a new way, and it makes me want you so much!" Kim missed the quick flush of green on Shego's cheeks at that, and continued prodding her food. "But it was there before, all of it. You haven't changed from when we fought as hero against villain, and I missed all of that. God, I must have been blind!"

Thinking carefully for a second, and watching the redhead in front of her as she poked her dinner, Shego quietly analysed what Kim had said. Finally she leaned forwards and the redhead glanced up, an uncertain expression on her face.

"Kimmie, of all the things to beat yourself up over. Doy! Things were a little different between us back then." The thief sipped her wine and then forked another morsel of food. "It's kinda hard to see the beauty in someone when they're trying to beat you into a bloody mess. It'd be almost impossible to notice when you're flipping around a room dodging balls of green energy that spell certain death."

"Yeah, but-"

Shego looked up and her expression was dark. "Just as impossible as it is for me to forget that _I _was the one trying to hurt you like that." The thief leaned back and sighed, pushing away the lingering guilt. "I did that, because I was angry and had something to prove to myself."

Kim flushed, realising she had opened barely healed wounds for sexy woman across from her. "Shego-"

"You weren't the only one being blind, Princess. I took years to work it out, and I only realised something was wrong because I knew how hard it was becoming to fight you day after day. I realised that what I was doing, while fun, was becoming less important. It was becoming a means to an end… the end being to see, to touch, and to have… time with you."

Kim blinked "It… was?"

"I'll only point out that three months since our run-in with the Jade and that bitch Kara, I'm now sharing dinner with you, on the shores of a tropical island, while trying not to fantasise about ravishing you on this table. And all after you and I have tried to kill or incapacitate each other for years. So yeah, things have changed fast for us. Personally, I like it."

"I still can't believe I never noticed that you were so gorge-"

"Cupcake, please stop saying that all the time. It makes me feel weird okay? Nobody has every really said that to me before." Trying not to flush a second time as her lover gazed at her so softly; Shego drank more wine to cover the fact she was blushing and then looked up. "Listen, all I want to know is do you see the stuff you missed back then in me now?"

"God, yeah." Kim whispered. "And you _are_ gorgeous. I don't care who knows it, but I'm in love with you."

"Well… that… that's good enough then." The thief wrestled with herself internally, she wasn't going to melt from Kim's quiet admission, and certainly not from the honest tone it was delivered with. "Kimmie… That you find me beautiful despite being the 'freak' with the plasma powers, pale skin, and mutant green undertones that others see? Well, that's something that I find one heck of a turn on myself and makes me love you a hell of a lot. You're the first single amazing thing to come along in my life."

"You're not a freak." Kim told her. "You're Shego… and that's all that matters as far as I'm concerned."

_And that acceptance from you makes me love you so much more. _She thought quietly as they both returned to their starters and Kim began to eat with far more enjoyment. _That you accept me for who I am is one of the things I find so fascinating about you, Pumpkin. Most people would call me a freak. You certainly could have when we fought all those years. Yet you never did, not once._

"Shego?" Kim repeated, making the green woman blink and focus on her. Where had all the time gone? "Did you hear me?"

"Um, no." The thief replied, and noticing both plates were now empty, signalled the waiter to come over. "Sorry."

"Hey, no big. I was only talking to you for about five minutes." Kim told her with a smirk. "I was thinking that we… should… um. "

"Madame and her partner have finished?" A smooth Italian voice quietly asked.

Kim looked up into the face of an elegantly dressed god. Their waiter was amazingly built and filled out the neatly modern black suit with light blue shirt very well indeed. His face too was smooth and elegant, with a dapper expression that conveyed polite interest towards them.

Kim felt her heart give a mild flutter of excitement as the waiter leaned over and neatly plucked her plate up, before turning to where Shego sat quietly drinking her wine, and picked up hers as well. The act was just enough so that the neatly styled trousers he wore tightened over his buttocks. Tight and defined buttocks that sent Kim's heart pumping.

"Yeah, thanks." Shego nodded, leaning back and grinning. "Nice stuff."

"Thank you, madam and madam. I shall bring you your mains immediately." The waiter murmured and strode off.

Kim's gaze followed him for a second, and then she sighed with a dreamy tone. "Wow…"

_Wait… what am I doing?!_ Her mind suddenly screamed at her. _You can't find a guy sexy in front of Shego! Heck, you shouldn't find then sexy at all! You're supposed to be a Lesbian now so act like one! Jeez, if she noticed that she'll hate me for finding a guy sexy! Apologise, right now!_

"I'm sorry!" Kim blurted out at the green woman, making Shego jerk to a halt in the process of refilling her glass with the excellent white wine she had been drinking.

"For what?" She asked, and Kim congratulated her on pretending to remain calm while her girlfriend and lover to be ogled another person. Worse, a man. Wasn't that wrong on so many levels? Claiming to love another woman and then feeling a bubbling arousal as this guy, in one hell of a well cut suit, bends over in front of you? Shego had every right to hit her here and now and-

"I… the waiter." Kim managed, only to feel her cheeks burn as the thief raised a single elegant eyebrow. She looked down and mumbled her guilt. "I stared at his… body. He's really built."

"Mmmn, nice isn't it." Shego replied casually, going back to filling her wineglass. "I could sink my teeth into his ass, I tell you. Well, if I didn't have my Kimmie anyway and she's _far _more my type."

Kim stared, just simply stared as the guilt and fear froze and then instantly vanished and replaced itself with confusion. "But… but…"

The green woman looked up at her once more, and placed the bottle into the ice bucket. "What, you don't want me to look? I call that unfair considering you did. Don't be greedy with the eye candy, pumpkin."

"You don't understand!" Kim managed, reaching out and gripping her tightly. "I'm… I'm not _supposed _to find guys sexy now!"

_Okay, you are now entering weird town, _Shego thought as Kim gazed at her with desperate apology and confusion. _Population one._

"Why not? I do sometimes."

The look on Kim's face was utterly priceless. _She finds guys cute too? She does?! But… she loves me and I… god my head hurts!_

"You… do?" She managed lamely.

"Well, yeah. Men, women… I kinda go for the whole selection, Pumpkin. Like in those variety boxes you can get. There's always something in there you'll find you like. Same deal." The green woman chuckled. "Besides, you know how much I like to break the rules? Well 'ta dahh' at me smashing one of the big ones for society."

_She likes both men and women? But… then I'm just like her and... What the heck does that mean for us?_

"But I thought, I mean if I like girls and you like girls then… I… but I like men and so do you so we…" Kim closed her eyes and her head bounced lightly on the tabletop. "Why isn't this simple? What's wrong with me?"

Shego chuckled with sympathy at the moan of confusion that came from across the table "Nothing at all, except that you seem to think you _must be _one of the sexualities. Not fitting into one of the groups such as heterosexual, homosexual… whatever frightens you way more than me."

Kim continued to gently thud her head on the table. "No big, this is no big…"

"Damn right it's not." Shego agreed and then rolled her eyes. "Look, pumpkin, how about I try and help you by making this simple?"

The thief watched a single green eye gaze up at her and Kim nodded. "Kay. Please and thank you"

"Right, um." Shego leaned back and held up a single finger as the waiter hovered with two steaming plates. Understanding, he retreated and she turned her attention to the pool of red hair on the white cloth. "You liked, though god knows why, the buffoon. Right?"

"Mmn." There was a slight nod. "And his name is Ron, Shego."

"Like I said, the buffoon. And then you and I hook up, and you find me beautiful and sexy." There was a subtle pause, ever so slight and almost faintly tinged with uncertainty. "Right?"

The nod that came again was far more vigorous. "Oh yeah."

"Well then, congratulations, Kimmie. Anything's possible for a Possible and you, cupcake, happen to be as lucky as me." The thief began to smile and sipped her wine. "We like both guys and girls in this big wide world. So relax, Kimmie and enjoy it. Just think of it as being a little more… mercurial in our tastes towards partners than others. We can appreciate both sexes, and I like that I can."

Kim slowly let her head rise from the table as something that she'd never considered before trickled into her head. But how to word it and not sound foolish to the older woman in front of her, that was the problem. "You mean I could be, um, bi-sexual instead of a lesbian?"

The green woman chuckled and rolled her eyes a second time, even as they twinkled with humour. "Again with the pigeonholing, Kim. What I'm saying is that who cares what your sexuality is. You like the waiter? Fine, look and enjoy his fine ass." She leaned close and her eyes had a warning gleam in them. "But only look, Princess. Don't even think about touching, now or ever. Because you're special to me, understand? I don't share anything I consider special with anyone else."

"Shego!" Kim flushed, but nodded. And when she spoke, it was with quiet sincerity. "I would never do that to you. Ever."

"I know, pumpkin. I just wanted to hear you say it." Satisfied, the thief turned and waved at the waiter who stood at a polite distance with their plates on a trestle. As he moved forwards, she smiled at Kim who returned it coquettishly. "So, you were saying something earlier that I missed?"

"Yeah. I was wondering if you were ready to move on yet?"

"Me? Kimmie, this is your holiday and yours alone. My gift to you, understand? The question is, are you ready to move on to somewhere else?" The thief sighed as a plate of rare streak was placed in front of her and she inhaled the scent of it greedily. "Mmmn, almost as good as this little bistro I know in Paris."

"Paris?" Kim nodded to the waiter as he placed her own order; a pan fried chicken breast coated in thick tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella, in front of her with a flourish. "Isn't that on our 'to do' list?"

"Yup, but only if you want to. I got reservations in the George the Fifth. Reservations that are open ended, as they are with all of the hotels and resorts I've booked, so we can go there when you want." Shego cut into her steak with enthusiasm and smiled inwardly, laying on the details for her. "I love that city though, so yeah I'll always be ready to go there with you. Even better, thanks to my time there, I know _all _the best places to visit. Clubs, restaurants, even the entertainments."

_Say yes. Oh, please say yes. I've got something cool to do with you there. And it also means I can finish up with that little camera toting bitch._

Kim watched her quietly, and smiled. "Okay then. We are so going there next."

"Yeah?" Shego looked up and smirked without Kim noticing as she began to cut into her meal. Her little prompting seemed to have worked. "Neat. When'd you want me to let them know we're coming?"

"Well, I've had enough sun for a little while." The redhead chuckled as Shego raised an eyebrow and gave her a long look up and down. "What?"

"Nothing. Just agreeing that my princess is well and truly tanned to perfection."

"Not surprising, considering we've had a week in the sun and the surf. It's been great here, and I really loved it. Especially all those extreme sports we did too. But I've had enough of the beach. I want to take in some nightlife, if that's okay?"

"Your wish, Kimmie, is my command." Grinning, the dark haired woman chewed her steak slowly, savouring the taste. "I'll phone the hotel tomorrow and we'll head for the airport after breakfast."

Kim smiled around her chicken, unable to speak as she chewed with enjoyment.

Both women continued to eat happily, watching as the surf and the moon continued to play with each other, each thinking various things, but always eventually coming back to romantic thoughts towards their partner.

It was that sort of night, and that sort of meal.

* * *

"Well, Bongo?"

A figure paced backwards and forwards in exasperation as it waited for the smaller simian figure in front of it to finish manipulating the advanced technological device sitting on a stone bench.

"Eeek, ook, eek ah!"

"You're certain?"

"Oook."

"Genuine! What the Jade gave me was genuine!" Monkey Fist pulled the glowing bracelets off the analyser and held them high. "The bracelets of Marajamon are mine!"

His insane high pitched laughter mingled with the screams and hollers of his monkey troops as they bounced around on the ancient stones of the temple.

As he held them high, the glowing power awakened inside the elegant metal and stone reflected in his eyes and the insanity underneath. Turning, Fist ambled on all four limbs, heading for the jet settled at the back of the temple, his crazed smile becoming feral as he passed into the shadows.

"I will indeed help the Jade. Kim Possible and Stoppable will soon be destroyed by our combined might!"

Laughter, quite insane and filled with high pitched giggles that were not meant for human ears, echoed through air.

* * *

Sun Resort: 2:30AM

"I can't believe you managed to finish off that dessert all by yourself, pumpkin."

Kim, slowly walking alongside the taller woman next to her - arm tucked neatly into the crook provided by Shego's own - chuckled. "Hey! I happen to like dessert."

Walking back to the neatly lined up huts that sat in this area of the beach - part of the exuberant and elegant top star accommodations at the resort - both redhead and brunette strolled along slowly, enjoying the night time air and its soft scents of exotic plants. And they were alone, understandably considering Shego had managed to keep Kim entertained at the bar after dinner until well past two in the morning. Now, the thief chuckled.

"No arguments there, princess, but a whole mango and cream frappe?" Shego pulled her closer and quietly enjoyed the feel of Kim's warm skin. "You keep that up and little Ms Possible will end up podgy."

"Yeah, right," Kim snorted, amused. "With you throwing me around the combat gym _and _my usual missions to stop crazy people from ruling the world? Please, I need all the energy I can get."

"I suppose." Shego replied, amused, and then suddenly reached across and ran her free hand along the cloth covering Kim's skin and the smooth muscle curves that rippled with tension. "I like this part, that's all. I don't want to have to fight past a couple of inches of fat."

"Hey!" Kim flushed, shivering at the gentle touch.

"Of course," Shego whispered, nudging her lips against Kim's head and seeking her earlobe as she inhaled the delicate scent of the redhead's skin "There are other ways of expending energy, Kimmie. Fun things, exciting things that are much better than fighting."

"Jeez," Kim managed, letting out a hiss that rapidly descended into a moan as the green woman began to nibble on her ear gently. "Cut it out!"

"Nope."

"We're going to make a scene!" Kim managed, the intense and pleasant feeling beginning to erode her determination to at least make it into the bedroom before the thief began exploring in earnest. "Sheggooo!"

"So we make a scene! Who cares?" Shego growled, blinking as Kim suddenly slammed her against the door to their beach hut, and began to scratch at the lock with her key card. The touch of the redhead and the way she continued to press her body into the green woman's own drove Shego crazy. Reaching out, she gently tugged the light fabric of the dress away from Kim's neck and began to nibble the skin she found there. "God I wish you'd let me have you tonight."

"Please, Shego, stop."

They both crashed through the door as it opened with a quiet beep, shocking both of them as they fell into their hallway. Shego let out a pained huff, as her back impacted on the soft, deep, carpet while Kim landed on top of her, red hair in disarray and mingling with Shego's own black threads.

The hero had barely enough time to get her breath back, before two dark lips locked onto her neck and began to suck and nibble once more, the sensations hot and powerful. Kim wanted to fight the urges, but found her body refused and gave in to Shego. Her hands slid into the dark tresses of her lover with wild abandon and she savoured the feel of the dark silk running through her hands.

Both women indulged in the taste and sensations of the other, everything else forgotten. Suddenly, Shego paused and Kim felt a hand press into her back gently, just above where the zip for her dress lay.

"Kimmie…"

Her name; uttered so quietly and tenderly, was a question from her lover. No, not so much a question at all. More… well, her lover seeking permission. For Kim it was both thrilling and frightening at the same time. She felt Shego shift gently underneath her, getting comfortable on the carpet, and shivered as a single long leg gently curled around her waist and tugged ever so slightly.

"Kimmie…"

"I…" Kim closed her eyes. Shego was so close, her gaze confident, needy… aroused. And Kim felt the same way, but… she wasn't ready yet. Not yet. She shook her head and gazed into the emerald eyes that gently traced over her face as she pushed back gently. "I'm not ready yet, Shego. I… I'm sorry."

The leg gently slid away, and Kim bit her lip as guilt washed over her at how cowardly she was to refuse giving Shego this final gift, this final special thing, the green woman's arms slowly folded around her waist instead and tugged the redhead closer. Black lips curved slightly and then reached up to lay one of the most feather light, and yet intense, kisses Kim had ever felt.

"Fine, I can wait…" the dark haired woman whispered, and her arms tightened slightly. "Just promise me, Kimmie, that one day you'll be ready for us to take the next step?"

"I love you," Kim murmured, amazed still at how quickly hate had flipped to an intense love and respect for both of them. "When I'm ready, and I _will _be ready, it'll be you."

"That's all I ask." Shego replied. "All I ask…"

Slowly, the two women untangled themselves and Shego stood and shut the door, breathing deeply as she did so to try and shake the lingering need and desperation to take Kim there and then.

_God that was hard, letting her go free. _The thief chuckled lightly and, turning, noticed Kim's own flustered and conflicted expression. _Mind you, looks like I wasn't the only one who wasn't pretty much hoping that went further than it did. Doy, what a point to stop at!_

"I…" Kim looked down at her feet. "I'm kinda tired now actually."

Nodding, Shego gently reached out and tilted Kim's head back up, soft green eyes staring into vibrant emerald ones. "Me too… but I want to have a quick shower before I turn in."

"A shower?" Kim managed, mesmerised by the vibrant gleam in Shego's eyes. "At this time of night?"

The thief nodded. "Yeah, Kimmie, a _cold _shower."

"Oh, oh!" The redhead shivered and pulled back gently. "Might be a good idea, for one of us anyway."

_Oh great, well done Kim._ The teen thought to herself as her body revved a second time._ Now I've got nothing but a picture of us _both _in the shower… together._

Smiling at the expression on Kim's face, a wonderful mix of indecision and embarrassment, Shego gently reached out and placed her hands on Kim's shoulders. Turning the teen around to face the bedroom, the moonlight shining on the bed through the skylight, Shego gently pushed her forwards.

"Go on, Kimmie. You're bushed, so hit the sack."

"Okay, sounds like a plan." Kim managed, and slowly wandered over to where the lure of soft sheets, and someone to curl up next to, beckoned. Pausing, she turned. "You won't be long, right?"

"Nope." The thief told her, opening the door next right next to the hallway that led into to the bathroom. "I'll have a quick shower and then join you, I promise."

Receiving a nod, Shego dipped into the bathroom and locked the door.

Once done, the thief silently moved across to where the frosted window on the other side of the room sat neatly closed. Sliding the latch open, she pushed the window as gently as possible, letting it whisper open and let in the quiet sounds of the hot night air and patter of distant surf.

Glancing across to the shower unit, she opened the glass door and turned on the taps, letting the loud hiss of running water cover everything with noise. Satisfied that Kim would be none the wiser, Shego slid off her shoes, let her legs slide out of the window, gave silent thanks that she'd chosen the black dress carefully that night, and landed silently on the walkway outside their hut with barely a whisper.

Standing, she inhaled the night air and her demeanour changed from relaxed woman into feral hunter with a single change in the way her body positioned itself and muscles tightened. This, the chase, the hunt for something or someone, was what excited her like nothing else, other than her lover back inside.

She was a thief, and Shego smiled as her emerald eyes gleamed in the night, reflecting the moonlight that spilled across the walkways leading back to the main hotel building and a certain Porsche that had become her single goal for the night.

_Oh yes, a lovely night for some final payback. _Shego thought gleefully as she took off in a long legged dash across the wood, her footsteps as silent as a cat. _Being with Kimmie may limit my options, Silicon Stacy, but you thought losing a camera to an 'accident' was bad? Wait until I hit you where it really hurts. Well, in your little piggybank anyway._

Prowling along the walkway, Shego ducked and weaved her way around the security patrols that covered the area as she headed for the main hotel building.

She was on a time limit, knowing that Kim would expect her to shower for only so long. The thrill of that, having Kimmie act as some sort of stopwatch, pushed Shego into an almost meditative state.

_If she forces open that door when I'm not there… well, I don't really want to think about that. Better to just get this done! Time to see if I've gotten rusty I think._

She shot into the varying types of plant that lined the walkway as she got closer to the main building and its unwelcome lights, using the foliage as cover in the dark. The only sign of her passing was the faint whisper of disturbed leaves and the excited gleam from her emerald eyes as she prowled along the ground.

It was almost deadly quiet in the hotel grounds now, most of the guests having gone to bed long ago. Indeed, Shego had quietly kept Kim talking and amused for most of the evening with the intent that when she stole out of the room, there would be nobody around.

The only action, as she passed behind the squat little shack, that housed it, was the beach bar that acted as a breaker between the hotel and the clear sand. A few people sat there, drinking and chatting happily. None saw the thief as she swept past them, covered by the trees and shadows.

Finally, Shego reached the main car park, where guests who had them parked their vehicles. Open planned and defended by a gate, a sturdy fence with security cameras, and a guard at the entrance, it was very well designed to being secure against outside threats.

_But not inside ones… _Shego thought, grinning with malevolent glee as her skilled eyes took in the camera positions and noted that though the fence ones covered excellently, the actual resort ones were far less intrusive and covering. _Designed to ensure famous guests aren't too concerned about some dick security guy selling the tapes of them pissed to the media. Which suits me just fine right now. Now then… let's find the Porsche._

Her black dress swirling around her in the gentle breeze, Shego skulked along the cars that were parked, eyes scanning for a tell tale make and anything else that would provide evidence that the car in question was the one she was seeking.

_Blue Porsche, blue Porsche. Hey, a Ferrarri! And an Aston Martin DB9 too! Oh, look at that! A Bugatti Veylon! _She stopped suddenly next to a bright blue Porsche, the nameplate gleaming in the moonlight.

'5TAC3Y'

_And we have a winner! But I was sort of expecting it to say she was spoiled or something. Ah well._ Glancing left and right, Shego crouched next to the vehicle and quietly moved along it, eventually reaching the bonnet. Her head rose slowly and glanced over the low metal fence and neatly trimmed hedge that discreetly shielded the car park from the main outside pool.

Spying the water, and glancing back at the car, a sudden thought struck her and the evil grin widened.

_Oh hoe… do I dare do what just popped into my head?_ The thief glanced back at the Porsche and hummed quietly to herself. _This thing can't weigh more than a tonne or so. I could do it if I wanted to… and do I?_ Shego carefully made her way to the back of the car and paused. _Kimmie wouldn't do this, she'd scream at me if she knew._

The memory of Kim's outraged and hurt expression as the Blonde had cackled about selling the picture to the media slid back into Shego's mind. Her hands curled into claws at the memory of her face.

_No, she wouldn't. But then I'm not her and she isn't me. Shego doesn't let something like that slide and nobody does that to her… no one! Well, except me and her parents. Maybe Stoppable, if he has a good reason or it's funny._ Shego paused and shook her head. _First I go soft in the heart, and now I'm going soft in the damn brain. Focus, Shego! _

Reaching the back of the car and crouching behind the bumper and its badge, the brunette cast a cautious glance left and right, her emerald gaze examining the entire space, including the shadows and areas people never even bothered to look consciously, for anything that indicated movement or something watching.

Finding nothing, Shego began to calculate the angle she needed to pull off her final little piece of payback against the woman who had annoyed both her and Pumpkin for the whole day. As she mentally began to work out the numbers, she gently methodically began to roll her hands and flex her fingers.

_Okay, for this to work I'm going to need a good dose of power of about fifteen hundred and… _Continuing to mentally work things out, Shego paid little heed as her powers began to respond subconsciously to the figures spinning past her conscious mind. Her arms tightened and the skin, usually so pale green, began to shimmer with an inner green glow. _Concussive blast should do it, tied in with a little kinetic shoring up of my own muscle fibres. Get this wrong and I'll snap every damn joint in my arms. _

The glow continued to build, the shimmering ripples under Shego's skin becoming the obvious thickening of her muscles throughout her body as she focused her powers in ways Kim had barely seen. Nodding, as she finished her mental calculations, the thief continued to focus inwardly on commanding her power to perform something she disliked doing immensely.

_Haven't done this much since my Go days… probably because it makes me look like a Christmas decoration, and this'll seriously make my body smart like a bitch later. Ah well, this'll be worth it and besides, I have a redhead to kiss and massage it all better later on._ Smiling at the thought, Shego took a deep breath._ Okay then, let's seriously charge up on the power and get this done._

Sliding her glowing arms under the rear bumper of Stacy's car, Shego focused her power into a concentrated torrent of energy, allowing it to saturate the tissues of her muscles and skin. It wasn't pleasant for her to bottle up so much of her plasma power in one area, indeed if she continued then eventually her body would just reflexively discharge in a massive display of heat and light.

But Shego wasn't going to let it get that far.

_Steady… focus. NOW!_

With an explosive snap the green woman straightened up, her hands gripping the underside of the car tightly, while at the same time the stored energy not shoring up her muscle tissues with kinetic discharge exploded out of her skin with a concussive blast that silently impacted the tarmac underneath the car. The energy tore into its underside and combined with Shego's enhanced strength as her hands pulled upwards underneath the Porsche, gave sufficient energy to lift the entire vehicle in an eerily silent flash of dark green light and a quiet pop of displaced air.

_And she's airborne!_

It all happened in the space of a second, and the sight would have been amazing to behold if anyone had seen it. A young woman, in her mid-twenties, body shimmering with green energy of an unknown nature, flipping an entire blue Porsche neatly into the air as though it were nothing more than a plastic toy. Almost elegant as it flew, the car rotated neatly once while airborne and, as Shego watched with complete and total satisfaction, landed with an almightily crash of displaced water into the main pool.

_Let's see the insurance company believe _this _claim form! _Glancing around, Shego smirked and nodded to herself. _Anyway, time to go!_

Her lithe figure let the glowing green energy extinguish with barely a flicker and Shego shot across the car park tarmac and dived into the foliage with a whisper of displaced greenery. As much as she wanted to stay and enjoy the reaction of the people who were _bound _to come and investigate the cause of the loud crashing noise, she had to get back before she was missed.

_Oh great, _She thought sourly as her bare feet pounded the gritty mix of soil and sand, her ears picking up the first scream of shock behind her as someone discovered a unique pool toy sitting where it shouldn't be. _My body is bloody killing me now! Goddamn power and its after-effects sometimes. Why couldn't I have had the super strength? Hego is a lucky bastard, he really is!_

As she reached the huts on the sand, Shego slowed to a graceful and silent stride as her feet quietly impacted the neatly laid and polished wood of the walkway. Her arms were throbbing now and she cursed inwardly as she rubbed them. Finally, her destination appeared in the evening air… the open bathroom window.

Quickly slipping back inside their hut, the thief stripped out of the dress she had been wearing and tumbled into the shower, biting back a wince as she realised she had actually set the thermostat on it to cold, less the warm blasts of moist air disturb Kim in some way. Shivering, Shego grabbed the bottles of shower gel and shampoo, and prepared to give herself the fastest body wash the world had ever seen.

* * *

Kim groaned as a much cooler and slightly damp body slid into bed next to her.

Though she had tried her best to remain awake and wait for her partner to finish her shower, the drowsy sensation she'd felt had rapidly overtaken her after she'd managed to slip into a loose, body length T-shirt and tumble into the soft sheets. Sleep had dragged her down and she's succumbed to it all to easily, thanks to Shego's late night habits while on holiday.

Now, her lover was sinking into the sheets with her, and Kim mumbled faintly and cracked a single, sleep ridden eye, open and stared at her. "Y'u duhne?"

Shego smiled, inwardly sighing with relief as she realised her plan had been a success and Pumpkin was none the wiser. "Yeah, I am. It was quite refreshing."

"Kay." Kim yawned, and to Shego's delight snuggled closer to her in the bed. She was almost disappointed that, to try and make Kim more relaxed in sharing a bed, her usual habit of sleeping nude had been curtailed to a matching dark T-shirt and very loose pants. She would have given anything for the two of them to be naked as they spooned together under the sheets. It would have been the perfect end to the perfect evening.

Smiling as the redhead burbled slightly and wiggled closer, her red hair spilling down the light cotton pillows in a gleaming torrent that spoke directly to Shego's libido, the thief caressed Kim's naked arm, suppressing a wince as her abused muscles complained at the action.

Ignoring them, and her protesting back, Shego continued to stroke the young woman along her arm, and tightened her legs against the redhead's own. She smiled in the dark, her black lips curving in wonder as she admitted something so very private to the both of them.

"I love you in every way I think I damn well could, Kim. God help us both if anything were to happen to you. I don't know what I'd do." Leaning back on the pillows, and ignoring the growing cries of excitement that were beginning to drift in from the bathroom doorway and open window, Shego let her tired body rest and begin to slip into sleep. "Still, nothing's gonna do that to you… not whle…m'n arn'd…"

* * *

Global Justice Headquarters.

"That is a very impressive building." Su murmured, her eyes glued to a pair of high powered military night vision goggles as she stared at the building in front of her. Illuminated by the moonlight and its own security lighting network, it was both beautiful and imposing as a target. "Correction, 'Global Justice' is _most_ impressive."

"Mmn, I have seen far better." Her sister replied, her dark clothed form leaning against the wall they had chosen to hide behind. "Though I'll admit I'm really looking forward to smashing that security. It looks to be most entertaining."

"I am sure you will, Song." Su chuckled, standing up and gently placing the goggles to one side. Reaching down, she picked up her Go Kitty backpack and slid it across her shoulders. "You remember the blueprints Master was able to obtain and send to us?"

"Of course." Song replied and, for a second, her hands peeled back the dark cloth of her shinobi shozoku to reveal a long thin combat blade and the flash of Shuriken, poison darts and more advanced weapons of combat. She smiled and then glanced across. "Not to insult your own choice of… weapons. But you do have your yo-yo, right?"

"Always." Su told her, holding the small item up for her perusal. "And I have told you before that I like my style of weapons. It makes me feel-"

"Like a child." Song told her with an amused smile. "You may look about fourteen, dear sister, but you certainly are _not _that age."

"Now is not the time." Su replied, rolling her eyes. Where was the fun of being an assassin for one of the most powerful organisations in the world, if your chosen method of killing was boring and mundane? After all, both she and her sister had chosen to remain 'young', to ensure that they could fall back on tactics for some targets that others… couldn't.

Shaking her head, Su took a few steps forward and joined her sister. "We want the computer level, nothing more. Simple in and simple out, my sister."

Song nodded, childish teasing completely replaced by cool professionalism. "And any guard that becomes a problem for us?"

"No killing if we can help it. Bodies leave a trail and anger; anger leads to renewed efforts to track us. We do not need that."

"I understand." Song replied. "And the bomb?"

Su patted her Hello Kitty backpack and thought of the fluffy Japanese styled 'Cuddle buddy' she had tucked into it earlier that night. "It is packed and ready to… 'Deal' with the Global Justice mainframe if necessary."

Song let out a murmur of satisfaction. "Then let us begin. I, for one am far more interested in dealing with Shego and Kim Possible than Global Justice."

"So am I, sister." Su whispered as they took off across the neat grounds of GJ headquarters. "So am I…"

Continued in Chapter 2.

Writers note:

Yes, I'm back ladies and gents... MBS has returned and the saga continues.

My thanks to Appy for Beta reviewing this for me, and everyone and anyone who asked for a sequel.

I love you all!

Hob.


	2. Chapter 2: Bad Girl Blues

**Kim Possible: Mind, Body, And Soul**

**Book 2: The Parisian Connection**

Chapter 2: Bad Girl Blues

Global Justice Agent Sarah Evans sighed and unscrewed the cap of her thermos. Carefully angling the flask she let its contents of hot coffee spill quietly into her coffee mug, all the while still scanning the security screens showing camera images from the perimeter of the building.

It was a quiet night, just like any other.

Her job was security, the night watch to be specific, and she did it well. It an honour to be selected for Global Justice and placed in this position - after all, when every agent left for the day, the offices, research labs, training centres, and even the cafeteria were silent, even when nobody remained for her to protect, she knew that thousands of United Nation secrets remained. And she defended them to her utmost.

Yet recently, especially since Kim Possible had announced her interest in Shego as a partner, the villain community, most notably the 'big hitters', had gone silent. It was a silence now approaching a good two long, tedious, months and Evans was horribly aware that she was becoming… well, bored.

Oh sure, they'd been attacked by WEE a few weeks ago, a minor skirmish that had been quickly resolved, but that had been the one time she'd taken a few days off. Coming back, it had seemed like everyone had enjoyed the excitement, the thrill, and she'd missed it. Not that she wanted anyone hurt, god forbid, but still.

She was so, so, bored!

Sighing, she moved to sip her coffee and settle in for another boring, though vigilant, eight hours of staring at screens displaying the elegant grounds of Global Justice.

The sudden clamour of alarms as infrared motion sensor eight detected movement of human size or greater, followed by the sudden darting movement of a high speed target across the video coming from the camera, had Agent Evans lurching upright, eyes wide.

"Son of a bitch!" She murmured, reaching forwards to hit the internal alarms and alert the thirty guards still in the building for just such an occasion.

Just as quickly though, she paused. She had been trained by the book for this post, and the book said that she had to personally confirm contact had been made before triggering the alarm. Considering that it alerted every single GJ agent at home, including Doctor Director herself, the book made a lot of sense.

"Verify it, gotta verify the contact!" She muttered, taking control of the camera and steering it around to try and locate the source of the trigger. "Come on… I saw you, so show yourself. Goddamn WEE, trying to sneak in!"

As the camera tracked left, then right, Evans gasped as another flash of movement skittered across her screen. Her right hand slid towards the main alarm button even as she continued to move the camera around.

Suddenly, the infrared image went dead, and was replaced with a sudden burst of colour and sound. The video had changed to what she thought looked like some kids cartoon - all bright lights and cute monsters of some sort. Turning, she moved to press the button.

"Hai, Global Justice!" The sudden thud of a paw on the screen had Evans blinking and slowly turning to stare in horror as a cute red bear-like creature 'tapped' on the screen and _stared _at her. With a flicker, the screens from every other camera changed to show its big, beaming, red face. And its smile suddenly became cold and hard, if that were possible from an otherwise very cute critter. "So, are you ready for a big surprise?"

The Global Justice agent reacted swiftly, finger plunging for the alarm. Before she could hit it the screen in front of her, rapidly followed by every other security camera screen displaying the bear's image, pulsed violently in a rapid strobe of multicoloured light.

Evans screamed, the light causing her to go into convulsions as the frequency of the light triggered a full-blown epileptic fit. Choking, she collapsed out of the chair and fell unconscious, her breathing shallow and thready.

A few minutes later the digital lock on the door to her security centre flickered and died, the door itself pushed open and two figures dressed in black stared down at her impassively.

"You do like your toys, anee. I am growing to despise this need for… cute in everything we do."

"They work, sister. That is enough. Come, we have much to do."

Two hours later, the silence of the night sky was shattered with an explosive roar as the windows on the fifteenth floor of Global Justice exploded into one huge sheet of flame. The Super computers making up GJ's mainframe followed, plunging to the ground below as lumps of molten metal and silicon.

Simultaneously, far below the ground in GJ's secured areas, another explosion roared along concrete corridors, empty of people, and doors exploded outwards in hot yellow flame. And yet again, more computer equipment was instantly slagged into useless remains.

The fire alarms finally activated and did what Agent Evans, unconscious in her security office on the first floor, could not. But by then, it was too late.

The mission had already succeeded.

* * *

The Sun Resort: Beachside Huts

Sunlight streamed brightly though the skylight onto the bed positioned underneath it. It shone on the soft white sheets and then danced across the tanned skin, red hair and green eyes of Kim Possible as, head propped on her left arm, she stared in utter fascination and amusement at the person curled up next to her.

Long dark hair curled on the pillow, giving Kim a startling contrast to the pale green skin of a body, barely covered by the creamy white sheet draped over it. The sheet certainly didn't hide the firmly defined curves – curves that were all female. An impressive chest rose and fell slowly, the loose top of a T-shirt peeking over the sheet whenever she breathed in, able to just restrain the impressive cleavage underneath. Her stomach played with the sheet as she breathed, showing muscle, and a lot of the creamy green skin, with each rise and fall. Long legs, supple and strong, ending in beautiful, dainty feet had the remains of the sheet wrapped around them, a pair of loose briefs just visible past the curled fabric.

_God, she's gorgeous. _Kim thought.

Muttering slightly, the figure turned towards her, and Kim smiled softly at the face of her one- time greatest nemesis. Well-defined cheekbones and ever so slightly almond eyes produced a distinctive face that benefited wonderfully from the full lips painted a green so dark it was almost black. Yes, this face had always been beautiful to Kim, even when it had an angry stare or taunted with sly jibes. Now, as sleep softened her features and gave her partner an innocent glow, Kim sighed with desire.

_Shego, you are one _heck _of a package. Why on earth did you fall for me?_

Shego didn't give her an answer, she _was_ sleeping after all, and Kim reached out gently and ran a single finger softly down her lover's face. As she slid it along the former thief's jawbone, Shego murmured again and shifted closer, a shockingly young smile slipping onto her face.

"Mmmnnnk, Kimmiie…" She managed, before burbling slightly and letting out a quiet snore.

_Oh god, I love you so much. _Kim thought. _If anyone had told me that I'd be with you, in love with you this much, barely half a year ago? I'd have called them insane and had them committed. _Chuckling, Kim brushed a strand of hair away from Shego's face.

A sudden loud knock pushed Kim away from her thoughts and the redhead glanced across the room with a frown. _Bit early for the breakfast staff… God, this is all I need._

Sighing, Kim slid out of bed and wandered over to the door, idly scratching her thigh and quietly checking that she was presentable. Reaching the door, she pulled it open and blinked in surprise.

"Yes?"

"Ms Possible?" The man in front of her asked, a mingled expression of anxiety and hope on his face.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Oh, thank goodness. My name is Cuthbert Dingle, I'm one of the resort's assistant managers and I wondered if I could talk to you about a rather urgent matter?"

"Urgent matter?" Kim repeated, and then smiled, puzzled. "Is this about my partner's bar bill? She said not to worry about anything and that she'd pay for-"

"Oh, no. Ms Go's bar bills are often the stuff of legend for us here at the resort. We are more than aware that she always pays them. No, the matter I wish to speak to you about is far more serious." Cuthbert wrung his hands nervously before taking out a handkerchief to mop his forehead. "One of the guests - well, more accurately the daughter of one of our senior board managers - is currently screaming that she'll sue us unless we can find a culprit."

"Culprit to what?"

"Oh. Didn't you hear the commotion last night, about one in the morning, Ms Possible?"

"No," Kim frowned. "I was in bed, and pretty much out of it. Why, what happened?"

"Terrible, terrible!" Dingle moaned. "The young lady has a very expensive Porsche for her trips around the local area. You know, visiting the little knick-knack stands and workshops in the towns. She keeps it parked in our car parking area for convenience."

"And?"

"Well, last night… um, how can I put this?" The manager mopped his forehead again and Kim frowned. "Last night someone, or something, evaded all our security and attacked the young lady's car. Somehow it ended up in one of the swimming pools around the main building. She is understandably upset and we agree that this is a dreadful occurrence."

"Well, not to sound rude Mr Dingle, but why does this involve me? I can't lift a Porsche out of a pool for you."

No, no, Ms Possible. It was agreed to approach you because of the potential impact this could have on our client list. Even considering the cost of the vehicle, we are not unhappy about being forced to replace it. No, the more worrying problem is that whoever did this managed to get past all our security cameras and fence systems. To say nothing of our guard patrols."

"I see."

"The Sun Resort prides itself on its customer… discretion. We wonder if you wouldn't mind coming and taking a look at the crime scene? I'm sure a few words from a world famous hero would calm down a lot of our more… worried guests at the moment."

"Um, yeah. I can do that for you. I can certainly scan the area to see if anything comes up about how it happened. I am on holiday, but-" As she stared at the growing expression of excitement on the manager's face, Kim sighed. "Give me a few minutes to get dressed."

"Oh, certainly, certainly. I'll also instruct the staff to set your breakfast up on your private veranda, if that's agreeable to you?"

"I think my partner would appreciate it, yeah." Kim smiled faintly, recalling Shego's attitude in the morning before she had her first cup of 'Go juice'. "Hey, make sure they add a good strong pot of coffee to the breakfast items would you? Yesterday we got tea. My partner wasn't very happy with that, at all."

"Certainly," Dingle beamed. "And again, I do so appreciate you taking the time to do this. I understand you're also intending to go to France later on this evening?" At Kim's nod, Dingle smiled brightly. "I'm sure we can compensate you with a few special discounts in the store before you leave us."

"Well, thanks." Kim replied, trying not to roll her eyes. "Just give me a few minutes, would you?"

"Oh, yes. Yes, cert-" Dingle began.

"-ainly. Yeah, I get that, I really do." Kim told him, before gently shutting the door and leaning on it. "Nuts! Why, even when I'm on holiday, do I get stuff like this happening around me?"

Quietly, the redhead angrily kicked the door.

_And why the heck did it have to be something so… so… mundane! I mean, jeez, how about a death ray, or mutated creatures, some sort of Drakken creation! Make it worth my time to be interrupted on _my _holiday! This isn't anything to do with world security, or a person's life! It's to calm down customers for a stupid piece of vandalism on an equally stupid and vapid little rich girl!_

But, Kim admitted as she forced herself off the door and took a deep breath, she'd help. She was Kim Possible after all, and sadly, sometimes it included little deals like this.

"Kimmie?" The tired and slightly slurred deep soprano had the redhead looking up and pushing herself off the door towards the bedroom area. "What the hell's going on?"

"Nothing big. The managers just got a sitch he'd like me to look into." Kim replied, walking in to the room and pausing suddenly. Standing in front of her, Shego cocked an eyebrow as Kim shrugged and then turned away to stare outside.

Standing next to the bed and dressed in the same loose T-shirt she had worn to bed that night, Shego idly scratched herself and glared at the offensive sunlight streaming through the large bay windows and Kim was suddenly struck by her image once more.

Her pale green skin still shone in the light. Muscles that had been slack and loose in bed were still relaxed along the curve of her body. But they still broadcast the strength inside them. An arrogant twitch of a thigh, the slender and well defined curve of her buttocks, her female abs taut underneath the skin. All of this gave Shego a deadly air of catlike readiness, even as she grunted and scratched her behind in a less than 'catlike' manner.

As she turned, Kim felt her pulse race even more. The long dark hair, ever so slightly tousled from the pillow, swished gently in the air and sent the familiar scent of cherry blossom shampoo across the room. As Kim inhaled slightly, she could only smile as the wave of dark silky tresses spilled across Shego's tired and yawning face.

_Even when she's a mess, she's gorgeous…_

"Did he say what it was about?" Shego asked, idly wondering why her coffee pot and mug were not on the table waiting for her as she usually expected. "And where's my coffee?"

"It's seven in the morning, Shego. I recall a certain green woman requested… no, demanded actually, that our breakfast shouldn't be delivered until nine."

"Seven, as in 'just after the morning sunrise' seven? Well, that blows." Shego muttered as Kim nodded. "I don't think I want to even believe there _is _a period before nine in the morning. I sure as hell never saw it since I turned evil!"

"Ha, ha." Kim deadpanned.

"And I'm also standing here, because the crazy hero I fell for had to go and answer the door when she should have been here," Shego pointed to her chest. "Resting in my arms, gently curled around me, as we lay together in bed… soundly asleep."

The redhead rolled her eyes and then a wicked expression slid onto her face. "Uh huh, sounds great, except that you snore."

"What? Oh no, hell no! I do not snore!"

Kim grinned at the indignant tone and danced back as Shego turned, eyes gleaming bright green. "Oh yeah, you do. I'd say you could cut down a log with your snoring."

Oh really?" Shego snarled staling towards her, all the while flexing her fingers. Kim would have been worried, certainly defensive at Shego's stance, if it hadn't been for the amused sparkle in the bright green eyes. "How about I show you just what I think of that comment, Princess?"

"Oh, bring it on Shego!" Kim replied, smirking, and then letting out a quiet eep of distress as Shego pounced and pinned her to the carpet with a thud, the sleep completely gone from her exotic eyes. Laughing, Kim grabbed the green woman around the shoulders and pulled her down. "Yeah, why don't you show me how you feel?"

"Gladly, Kimmie." Shego murmured, the amusement so poorly hidden now gleaming brightly in her face as she leaned down and claimed her lover's lips.

Tender and gentle as she explored, Shego finally broke the kiss after a few moments and leaned back. Kim, slightly dazed, glanced up and smiled winningly. "Has to be said, that wasn't much of a comeback."

The green woman snorted and quietly savoured the lingering taste of Kim's lips, before glaring at the redhead. "I don't snore."

Kim wisely decided to remain quiet and sighed. "That was a great way to start the morning."

"Yeah, not bad at all." Shego grinned. "So, what're you going to investigate?"

"Oh, some stupid bimbo drove her car into the pool. I bet she was drunk too." Kim replied, pulling herself upright and wandering across to the closet. Sliding it open, she pulled out a neat light green T-shirt and matching red shorts. "She's screaming that she didn't, the management are defending themselves from her claims that someone did it deliberately. They want me to check it out and sign off on the security of the resort. It's crazy."

_Uh oh… _Shego forced an understanding nod with a slightly puzzled expression.

"Really?" Shego pushed herself up off the floor and watched Kim begin to dress. "You could tell them to find someone else. Maybe someone they're going to pay to do this?"

"I could, but I don't see why. I was up anyway, staring at my lovely green girlfriend. It's as good a way to start the day as any I suppose. I'll check the pool area, have a quick word with the management, pop back here and join you in our Tai Chi practice, and then breakfast while watching the sea. Sounds better than good actually, it sounds excellent."

"Look, Kim, I-"

"What?" Kim slid to her feet and walked across to where Shego now kneeled on the carpet, staring up at her with a vaguely worried expression. "What is it?"

"Listen, I just think that-"

"Hey, are you worried about me thinking it was you?" Kim asked, the tender understanding tone making Shego curse silently, a spurt of guilt shooting through her. "That's no big at all. You were with me all night, so I'll tell them it couldn't have been you. So don't worry about it.

"Oh. Okay then, that's good to know." Shego managed weakly, while inside she began to swear with more venom. "So, Tai Chi and then breakfast? It sounds great."

"Yeah, it does. Order me up some blueberries, would you?" Kim leaned down to kiss her gently and then chuckled. "Catch you in ten, Sheeg."

Wincing at the affectionate tone of the nickname, Shego felt her stomach tense and lurch with a hot spurt of guilt. She quietly watched as Kim sauntered out of their beach hut and walked up the path with the anxious manager scurrying behind her. Once she was sure Kim was out of earshot, she groaned and slapped her forehead.

Stumbling to her feet, the thief pattered into the bathroom and picked up her clothes from last night, dumping them into her waterproof travel bag for cleaning later on. Turning on the shower, her face was bitter and guilt ridden.

_Why did they have to ask _her _to investigate?! A few more hours and we'd have been gone!_

She should have foreseen them asking Kim to look into a Porsche ending up in a pool. But no, she was too busy plotting revenge and imagining the expression on Silicon's face when she found out to worry about it too much. But of course they weren't leaving until this afternoon and that had left an obvious window.

So now she had to lie to Kim, or pretend to Kim anyway, when the redhead came back. She knew that the chances of Kim and her damn Kimmunicator not detecting the trace bio-patterns in her plasma, which Wade had once explained he'd used to detect her actions before, was practically nil.

Which would lead to a fight… and possibly, and secretly far more terrifying to her, Kim leaving her before they had even _started_ as a couple. Hell, she could almost taste the anger Kim would be radiating when she stormed back to their hut. Maybe she should ready herself for a fight?

_No, this isn't the time or place. Just keep calm, and try to remain that way._

Turing on the shower, Shego paused and then glared up at whatever deity kept doing this to her, and she took a deep breath.

"Okay, no problem. You've pissed off Silicon Stacey by dunking her Porsche, when you promised Kim you wouldn't do anything else. You've lied to her multiple times and now you've got to lie to her again! I… I… oh damn it!" Groaning, Shego banged her head against the tiles and stared miserably at the pattern. "Way to go, Shego. A few months in and you're trying to nuke everything before it gets started… no matter how much that trumped up bitch deserved it."

_Kim asked you not to… _

The quiet thought popped into her mind and the thief gritted her teeth. "No! I'm not going to feel sorry for what I did. Silicon was a bitch and deserved it! If Kimmie 'holier than thou' Possible' has a problem with that then maybe I should just cut my losses and… and…"

_She loves you, and the tough bitch act doesn't work when you're thinking stuff out._

The image of Kim looking at her with disappointment, hurt, hell, even betrayal, slid into Shego's mind and the mercenary groaned as the angry part of her just melted away leaving just the guilt and worry about what would happen _when _Kim came back.

_Damn it, I love her too much… I actually may have to… to… apologise. Ah, hell! I haven't apologized to anyone since…since… Oh, crap, I'm in trouble._

Sighing and slipping out of her rumpled night clothes, Shego slid into the shower and let the hot water massage her troubled brow. Whatever was going to happen, one thing was clear.

She would just have to improvise.

* * *

Global Justice Headquarters

"I can't believe this."

Doctor Director stared at the utter devastation of Global Justice's fifteenth floor and huffed.

What had once been GJ's additional mainframe storage area, designed as a backup for less vital information, was now a wrecked and steaming lump of silicon. An entire floor of pristine glass, lined from roof to floor with advanced sub-frames, storage mediums, networking systems, and communications technology, was now a smoking, water sodden, mess.

Below, in the secured underground base network, the news was just as bad. As well she knew, considering she had gone there first. The very lowest level of the underground sections of GJ's base was the military level mainframe, encrypted storage systems, and computational equipment. The primary processing power for all of Global Justice and Omega level encrypted storage systems, along with their encrypted international communications network, had been down there. Safe, secure, protected from prying eyes. And all of it had been utterly destroyed.

And she knew, just knew, even before Will had begun to fill her in, that it had been no accident. When her bedside communicator alerted her to the fire on the GJ lower level, let alone the one on floor fifteen, she had known. Simply because down there, with all the equipment they had, GJ employed a haylon gas system designed to snuff out the fire through lack of oxygen, protecting the equipment that was undamaged. That it hadn't activated had meant one thing.

Sabotage.

And so, when she arrived to find Will Du and the majority of her agents in front of their headquarters, along with the Global Justice emergency medical responders - two hunched in front of a spasming figure and several others tending to shaky and injured security agents, she expected it.

However, she had not expected the upper level to be in roaring flame, nor to end up driving over the window glass scattered across the drive and parkland. She had not been prepared to leave her car back along the main drive, thanks to a smouldering melted lump of metal that needed a double take for her to recognise as one of the 'public' sector mainframes. She had certainly been angered to find the haylon system had 'failed' on this floor as well.

But Betty Director's annoyance at the level of property destruction was nothing compared to her anger as she had watched Agent Evans, face coated in white foamy saliva and her breath coming in short gasps, being loaded into an emergency evacuation helicopter.

Still, it was business first and worrying about her agent second, as it had to be right now. So, as much as she desired to accompany Agent Evans to the nearest trauma centre, she ended up taking a jet tube down to the lower levels and taking in the destruction there, before coming back to surface level and using the secure lift to view the complete devastation above her as well.

And now she stood in the smouldering remains of what had formally been Global Justice's securest building, and glared at the twisted contents of the room.

She turned to Will Du, who stood next to her with a shamed expression, while her boots splashed water around from the puddle she stood in, thanks to a set of broken water pipes protruding from the wall behind her.

"So, what about Evans?" Betty asked, recalling the pale, frothing, and shaking face of one of her handpicked night watch team. Someone, who she had chosen out of the hundreds of applicants for the position, because she had seen something in the young woman's demeanour that reminded her of herself as a young agent. "How did they do that to her?"

"Um, with this." Will held up a battered and brightly coloured laptop. Rainbows had been painted all over its surface and Doctor Director closed her eyes and ran a hand across her forehead at the sight of a decal displaying a cute cartoon monster from one of the more recent children's cartoons stuck to the laptop lid.

"Please, tell me this is a joke William!"

"Um, no, this is a basic, and very inexpensive, laptop. We found it hooked into our network by means of the camera's primary feed and this." Will held up another box. This one a scorched mess of melted plastic and reeking of burnt silicon. It was obviously far advanced compared to the laptop and shone with the quality of professional equipment.

"This is what actually allowed whoever did this to hook into the system. However it was designed internally - and we'll never know from this because it is completely toasted, ma'mn - it managed to bypass our encryption protocols and also the hardware firewall. Once in, it sent a viral download into the security substation that Evans was using, which allowed the laptop to take control of it.

"And?"

"The laptop itself has a few programs stored on it, nothing too complex or illegal. Most of it is the usual legal software you can buy." Will sighed. "But the program that caused Agent Evans to fit like that is quite complex. It's designed to send pulses of light in a set of various rapid subliminal patterns to the eye. Each of the patterns is designed to try and trigger the epileptic reaction that Evans is now going through. Just in case someone resists one or another of the various pulse patterns, it cycles through them all in sequence to ensure a reaction in the chosen victim.

"And the… 'media' it was placed under?"

"Has absolutely nothing to do with the program itself. It can be placed under any program, even a fake or live feed. So, ma'mn, whoever did this to Evans intended it to be placed under that… kids show."

Doctor Director stood quietly, hands in the pockets of the GJ jacket she'd shrugged over her skin-suit, and tried not to laugh in utter disbelief.

"So, we were attacked by… what, children?"

"I have no idea, Ma'mn, but repair and IT management are trying to restore the security systems to local control. They say that if the sub-nodes aren't fried, then they still may have stored something for us to use, something to identify the perpetrators of this at least. Until then we only have the laptop itself. Nothing obvious to backtrack so far, but we'll check the chip numbers and delivery schedules of course. Maybe we'll get lucky and find a company they were sent to. Even if they turn out to be a front, it'd be a starting point."

"Understood. Now, what about the emergency data dump done before our very expensive military mainframes ended up as melted metal and," Betty kicked at a charred lump of silicon next to her boot. "Part of our building's floor?"

"Um, as far as I'm aware the information is still stored and awaiting retrieval. At least, I haven't had a report from IT services to tell me otherwise, Ma'mn." Will raised his wrist communicator to his lips. "Agent Pravta, please meet Doctor Director and myself in the secondary storage centre on floor fifteen."

"Um, now? I'm really quite busy and-" The tinny voice sounded very reluctant and the GJ leader raised a single eyebrow at its tone, even as Will growled a confirmation into the device. The voice sighed. "Yes, Sir."

"He's on his way, Ma'am."

"So I gathered." Betty shook her head. "This is twice in less than three months, William."

"Ma'am?"

"GJ being blindsided, and I'll bet you a months salary that the people who did this are either part of, or linked to the Blood Jade. God knows I should have seen this coming, considering how deeply we've been biting into their inner workings thanks to, of all people, Shego." Betty glanced around and scowled. "I should have expected this, some form of backlash. But I was planning for increased numbers of mercenaries or their own forces when we assaulted business fronts."

"You couldn't have foreseen this."

"Actually, yes I could have. In fact I did. But I'd planned for at least another six or seven months of shock and chaos. And then I'd expected them to attack one of our GJ exterior bases or offices out of desperation, and for it to be a futile gesture." Betty kicked another lump of ruined computer across the room. "They're far more organised and dangerous than I'm still giving them credit for, and I'm a fool not to." She sighed. "Kara Fang's little display showed us that."

"We stopped them… or we won, if you want to put it that way." Will pointed out.

"Did we, Mr Du?" Doctor Director smiled weakly. "People died, Kim was crippled for weeks, Dr Possible is still psychologically scarred, and Mara was reduced to a twisted wreck. Though we gained Shego as an ally, she doesn't really trust us to get the job done, or protect her or Kim, thanks to Kara catching us with our pants down. Plus, she almost died herself…"

"But-"

"No, William, we didn't win… what we did was have Ms Possible, Shego, Mr Stoppable, and Ms Yori turn a sucker punch from the Jade into a bloody and frantic fistfight for survival. What we did, Will, was just about win round one by using every trick we knew. But it seems they're back for round two earlier than I thought. And who knows what new tricks they've got for this new round? We barely 'won' last time. And if round one _was_ their warm-up, then we're in trouble."

The sudden quiet ding of the only working and secured lift made both GJ agents turn and watch a thin, gangly and nervous man wander towards them. Though he wore the same uniform as they did, excluding the commander's jacket that Betty chose to wear more often now, the single white square on his breast pocket indicated him to be part of their IT systems section.

The incredibly nervous and apprehensive expression on his face made Doctor Director wince inwardly and she scowled as he hesitantly stepped towards them. _If this is any indication as to the effects of this attack on our moral, then punitive action needs to be taken immediately._

"Tell Doctor Director what you told me, Agent Prayta."

"Yes, Sir." Prayta, slightly pale as he stared with awe at the dark haired woman and her eye patch, licked his lips. "Um, Commander Director-"

"Doctor Director will do." Betty told him, sighing at the young man's expression. Did this agent expect to be jumped on for what had happened? If so, then the blow to moral that had already been struck, just to the initial staff trying to clean up this mess, was a warning about how the rest of Global would react.

"Yes Ma'mn, we've contacted our secure backup server centre and they've started recovery from the emergency dump from our mainframe network. But umm," the specialist closed his eyes. "We have a problem."

"What sort of problem?"

"When they transferred the encrypted and compressed data from the storage mainframe and began decompression and file integrity checks, there was a total system failure. We've lost the decompression system until it can be reformatted and configured. All of the data that was being decompressed was corrupted and rendered unusable."

"A virus?"

"Yes, Ma'am, a very clever one. Someone has installed a worm based virus of incredible complexity. It seems to have sought out and buried into various files containing certain words or data strings. I've had techs trying to pull out a cohesive and complete viral code, but this thing is damn clever and keeps changing on us."

"Placed by our visitors before they destroyed the mainframes I take it?"

"For it to have been integrated into the emergency data dump? Yes." Prayta shifted nervously. "I have no idea how long it will take us to recover the information."

"Will it all be cohesive and uncorrupted?"

"Yes, as far as we can tell. A couple of the techs who've reported back indicated that they've begun integrity checks on a few core sections of the data and then, as the files were checked, that was when they began to fragment and self-destruct. It's very clever and is going to take a while to purge."

Betty sighed and glanced around her at the devastation. "I think you can take your time, as it's certainly going to be at least a week until I can secure replacements for the equipment both on this floor and down below."

"Meanwhile, Ma'am, whoever did this has struck quite a blow." Will told her quietly. Receiving a nod, he continued. "Our overseas efforts are going to be seriously hampered, along with our communications, until we can get replacements installed and functioning. The exterior bases and offices are going to have to run under local control until we can integrate them back into the hub."

"Contingency?"

"In place, but it's taking some time. One problem is, um, some of our agents have been a little lax on refreshing themselves on this procedure, and some of the equipment hasn't been online since the budget cuts last year."

Betty sighed. "Fine. Time to integrate fully?"

"Two weeks or so. Skeleton systems for communication and control in the US may take about two days. For the United Kingdom branch, the procedure we rely on is using MI6. For the rest of the world, a few other agencies will give us a hand." Will shrugged. "Still, I've already contacted MI6 themselves and they're happy to assist us by acting as a go between for our European hub until we can get the GJ communications system reconnected to our satellite network."

"Understood. You and your team do what you can to delete this virus from the backup and restore our files. I would suggest you begin by examining any file that has the words 'Kara Fang' or 'Blood Jade' contained in them. I have a suspicion that may be the starting point for infection."

"Really? Well, if so then things may be looking up. If they are the initially infected files, we can run some contained sims and watch the cross-infection on a simulated GJ operating system. From there, should be simple to generate a counter measure of some kind. I'll get right on it."

"Good luck, Prayta."

"Yes, thank you ma'am."

As the IT specialist turned and headed for the lift, Betty kicked at the scuffed and burned hunks of lino.

"So, they've crippled our communications for a few days and wiped a good hunk of what we knew about the Jade into unusable data. The protected backup is now infected and unreachable until the IT department develop an anti-viral." She sighed. "On the other hand, we've managed to cripple their USA operations and have really cut deeply into their primary organisational structure around China and Japan.

"Yes, that about sums it up, Ma'am."

"I'm impressed, despite myself. I always thought WEE would be the one to cause us trouble, my brother certainly. Now, it seems that a group we knew nothing about have presented quite the challenge for us." She sighed and smiled wryly. "What we have here then is an interesting game board, full of potential."

"Ma'am?"

"Chess, William. I like to play from time to time. I know it can be a bit of a cliché when you're running a security force, very movie style secret agent in a way, but I do find it relaxing and sometimes a wonderful version of what I have to deal with day to day. I was just wondering what the game board for Global versus the Jade looks like right now." Betty's expression was thoughtful. "We've both lost some pieces, mostly pawns on our side… and while the Jade still has most of their pawns, I would guess they're missing their rooks and bishops. But how badly that's affected our game plans, I have no idea. At least we haven't had to castle…yet."

"I'm afraid I don't play chess." Will sighed and glanced around. "I should get started on calling the local offices and secondary outposts to notify them about being under local control until we can get everything up and running again. While they're down, we're highly vulnerable."

"Good idea. Though speaking of which," the one-eyed woman shifted her attention back to Will, who stiffened in response. "Let's talk about Global getting caught with its pants down, shall we?"

"Yes, Doctor Director!" Will Du agreed, his body still stiffening at her tone.

Rolling her eye, Betty waved a hand. "Oh relax, Will, this isn't your fault. None of this is." Betty murmured, nodding as the young agent deflated. "What I meant was that I need your help to sort this out. What I _want_ youto do is ensure this doesn't happen again while I sort out GJ getting back on its feet and have a good look at the bigger picture here."

"The Jade certainly blindsided us." Will managed, and relaxed as Doctor Director nodded.

"Exactly, but when you think about what they did with the opportunity they had, it doesn't tally." As the thin man frowned, Betty waved a hand at the destruction around them. "Oh, they hurt GJ, to be sure. But, when you think about what else they could have done… well."

"They did manage to wipe out our computer files, humiliate our staff and guards, and cripple us for a few days."

"True enough. But what about the R&D section, the weapons centre, or the evidence vault? They left them all alone when damaging them would have been even more of a blow to us." She frowned. "No, William. They targeted our files and our communications for a specific reason - one I can't quite put my finger on right now."

"So, our short term goals are to prevent this happening again?"

"For the moment, yes. I want us back on balance ASAP, and secured against further sneak attacks. The answer to that is very simple."

"Um, it is?"

"Yes it is. When Shego was still working for the wrong… ah, interests shall we say? Global had special order twenty in place, twenty-four seven, on my orders."

Will Du nodded, his face brightening at the order and its affects on GJ security. "If I recall, it was designed to prevent Shego from gaining access to Global, our departments, and our secure files."

"Exactly, and it was successful too. This is why I suggest we implement it again until the Jade are less of a threat, or at least until we have a handle on the situation." She paused. "I should never have released us from that actually…"

"It'll mean taking everything back to maximum security. Reactivating a lot of the internal security we shut down… and a recall of some of the staff we beached. The UN security council is going to have kittens at the next budget review, Ma'am."

"And this?" Doctor Director waved a hand around her, taking in the destruction of their property. "This won't do that anyway, William? I think they'll understand the trade off, especially when I start requisitioning items to replace all this."

"Point, Ma'mn." Will nodded, and then paused. A sudden weary expression crossed his face and he turned to her. "You also realise that taking us back to special order twenty will have another effect?"

"Oh?"

"Shego will be utterly and insufferably smug that we actually _had _a special order in place where she's concerned. Her ego will never let us live it down that we considered her so… so dangerous to our security."

Finally finding something, anything, to lighten the mood, Doctor Director gestured towards the lift. "Can't be helped, William. I suppose it's up to Kim to keep her from gloating too much about that. Maybe I should drop a hint that special order twenty-one is still active where Ms Possible is concerned, and far more vital to world security?"

The young GJ agent considered this and then flashed a very uncommon smile. "Now, the expression on Shego's face if you did tell her that would be worth seeing."

Betty gave him a rare grin back. "It is tempting… I'm a commander in Global Justice after all, not a saint."

"By the way, do we tell them about this?" Will Du paused and looked thoughtful. "They could be in danger… they could be targets right now."

"Doubtful, but a good idea, and one I've already decided to do." Betty nodded. "I'll ask Wade to patch us through to the Kimmunicator and Shego's device as well. They do deserve to be told, though I think this was far more targeted at us than them right now." As Will nodded, Doctor Director shook her head wryly. "Not even the Jade is stupid enough to go after Shego and Kim as a couple… even my brother would see that as suicide."

"And identifying our attackers from last night?"

"If they were from the Blood Jade, then we have a few resources to tap in regards to identifying them." Betty cracked her knuckles. "Let's be about it, Agent Du. I want my agency back up within the day!"

"Yes, Ma'mn!"

_

* * *

__Damn it all to hell!_

Shego growled as she stared out across the blue expanse of the Caribbean with anxious and tense eyes as she paced the same few metres of light sandy beach in front of the beach hut that she shared with the woman she was currently pacing because of.

_She's going to kill me… or look at me with those damn soft green eyes and be so… so… ashamed to be my lover! _Shego shivered, neither prospect sounding delightful. _Fuck! You just had to do it, Shego…just couldn't walk away…and look where it's gotten you!_

She admitted that if Kim did come back to chew her out and stare at her with utter disappointment, then it was her own fault. Though it had taken a good fifteen minutes of self-denial, and trying to excuse that it was denial by consciously repeating that Kim knew she was less than angelic and had a hot temper to boot which she freely admitted she had, Shego knew the annoying truth.

For all the justifications that went through her head, starting with the fact that Kim herself had intended, the day before, to smack some sense into Silicon Stacy for calling Shego a green freak… The undeniable difference between them however, was that Kim hadn't touched the bitch. She'd walked away with the view that Silicon just wasn't worth her, or Shego's time.

Shego herself hadn't appreciated the comments about herself, but she'd heard far worse in her life and chalked down the base insult to the stupid blonde being thicker than Hego.

But then it had come to Silicon's comments about her 'Redhead dyke lover' and that had pissed her off. Oh, the bar meeting with Silicon had been her spoiling for a rumble, sure. Still, she'd also promised Kim she'd drop it when the redhead had found her, and then… well, hadn't.

She'd gone behind her girlfriend's back, acting on impulse, acting on anger, and knowing she was, in her own mind, pretty much in the right… and ended up making a terrible screw up that proved to be just the opposite.

Now, when the redhead came back, she'd have to own up to her decision. And despite more denial that having Kim leave her and go back to dating… well, anyone else didn't mean that much to her, she knew that it was delusional. Hell, she loved Kimmie enough to work with Betty, make a deal to be with her, no matter how annoying the one-eyed woman was, damn it!

Then, just when she'd got Kim relaxed and having fun, and she herself had begun to enjoy herself _with _Kim, she had to go and lose her temper. Oh, it was easy to slip back into being…well, evil in a way. Except that bitch deserved what she'd done to her. Even Kim had to have seen that.

And it had been fun too. The old thrill of being just that little bit indulgent, being a bad girl, getting a nice healthy bite of revenge against that stuck up bitch. Oh yeah, it'd got her old juices flowing… being just herself, being Shego.

_But Kim asked you not to… and you did it anyway, lied about doing it, went even further, and caused one hell of a mess._ The thought popped into her head, sarcastic and scathing. _So, that little indulgence in being an evil bitch may have just cost you one of…no, _the _best thing to ever come into your life. So, congratulations. From a working relationship with someone who is sexy, smart, and _gets _being what it's like to be us, to an ex-girlfriend in less than two weeks. That's gotta be a new record, even for you._

"Shut up, I'll damn well fix this!" Shego hissed scrubbing her eye even as she paced the sand, feeling as guilty as hell, and glancing occasionally across to where the small balcony joined the beach. The table sitting there had recently been joined by a laden breakfast platter. Shego continued to pace, waiting for a young figure to seat herself. And while she waited, the thief continued to imagine ways of telling the redhead without something painful happening to her, physically or verbally.

_Hey, Kim, funny thing, and don't tell anyone, but the car? That was me… cool, eh?_

"No. She'd kick my butt right away for lying…"

_Hey, Kimmie, you know how I promised you I'd leave Silicon Stacy alone. Weeeell guess what?_

"Okay, that makes me sound like an idiot."

_Something happened, and when I saw her Porsche I thought a little evil would be a good thing and-'_

"No… hell no! 'A little evil would be a good thing?' Okay, so true… but she'd kick my ass again!"

_Kimmie, I'm really sorry but I couldn't help myself. That bitch needed to be put down a peg or two. Hence her car ending up in the pool. I'm really sorry for what I did… can you please forgive me?_

"No, no, no! I'm not grovelling… not me! Not even for her!"

The haunting image of Kim staring at her with such disappointment flooded her mind a second time and Shego scowled. "I didn't do anything _wrong_! She insulted Kimmie, she insulted me, and the bitch deserved everything that came to her!"

But that wasn't the issue, was it? What had been done, what had been said was. Her desire to indulge herself was. Her subconscious decided at that point to offer its own suggestion to what could happen in the next few hours.

"_Shego, how could you?" _The green eyes, so very much like her own, stared with an injured expression_. "How could you do this, when you and I are together? You know how much I put on the line for you… now you've made me lie to them, made me an accomplice to you being unable to control your temper! I told them you weren't involved. How could you do that to me? I risked everything for you, and you disregard it so easily!"_

Snarling, her bare foot kicked at the sand, sending up a cloud of light yellow into the air. I'm _not _apologising by grovelling. Kimmie knows who I am, and what I am. I was… no, damn it, am! I am still evil! That's me, Shego. She knew what she was getting into when she hooked up with me. So she'll have to just suck it up then, won't she!"

There was a pause after the rant, green shoulders slumping and the anger vanishing like steam, followed by a groan.

"Fuck it… I am in deep, deep, crap."

Shego turned away from the beach hut and the anxiety of waiting for Kim to amble through the patio style doors, and instead watched the sea.

The gentle rolling of the waves across its surface was a perfect mimic to the way she was now, pacing slowly from side to side, hands rhythmically clenching and unclenching with slow deliberate precision. It wasn't until you could see her bright green eyes that the roaring, shifting, and confusing emotions that swirled inside the thief were revealed.

"_So disappointed in you."_

She bit her lip and shook her head, long dark hair swirling in the gentle breeze. "Me too, Kimmie…and jeez I hate how it makes me feel."

"Who _are_ you talking to?"

Shego jumped slightly at the voice that had suddenly intruded on her brooding, and she reluctantly turned to see Kim standing next to the breakfast table, the hero's expression worryingly calm except for a single raised eyebrow.

"Pumpkin, you're back already?"

"Mmm? Oh, right. Yeah, no big at all. Took me about five minutes to examine the site and work out what happened."

_Oh, damn._

"Really? So what happened then?"

"Nothing major, just as they said. A car, in the pool…very odd." Kim crossed her arms as Shego worried her lip gently. "More importantly, you okay? You look concerned about something."

"I… I'm not sure that-" Shego trailed off and shook herself mentally. The best defence, to whatever Kimmie was planning to do, was an offence of some sort. She decided to go with her usual arrogant and sexy attitude. It had always worked for her in the past. "I'm fine, just thinking about some stuff, Cupcake."

"What stuff?" Kim asked, ignoring the pet name, and Shego blinked as her lover-to-be casually slid into one of the wooden chairs next to the table and started to investigate the dishes laid out on the linen.

_Okay, we're playing it cool on the whole car issue. Good. Maybe I was lucky just this once._

"Us mainly." Shego replied carefully, fighting down an irrational spurt of guilt as Kim yawned for a few moments and rubbed her eyes.

_Yeah, she wouldn't be so tired if they hadn't woken her up, all thanks to you. _

The green woman pushed the thought aside and, with deliberate casual nonchalance, wandered up the beach. She did, however, surreptitiously take a deep breath, before subconsciously crossed her fingers.

Kim being angry was a big turn on for her, Shego could admit and wryly agree that it was a little odd that Kimmie in such a state could do that to her. However, Kim upset with it… that still unsettled her in ways she still had trouble understanding, let alone coming to terms with.

_Okay, let's do this. Nothing to it. Just steer the conversation and then when she finally plays her cards and asks you why you dumped a Porsche into a pool, just remind her of who she's in love with…_

_And if all else fails, be ready to run like all hell!_

"I was just thinking about how little either of us has changed. You know, as people."

"That's a pretty deep thing to be thinking of this early in the morning after being woken up," Kim glanced up as Shego reached the wooden deck and slid into the chair opposite her. "Don't you think?"

"Well, it was being woken up so early this morning that did it," Shego replied carefully. "I mean, we got woken up because of the hero thing you do. Right?"

"I suppose so. It's what I do after all." For just a second, Shego saw Kim pause as she studied the breakfast dishes, and a terrible feeling of something… odd, covered the space between them. She couldn't put her finger on what it was, but it was there between them. Subtle, oppressive, almost… cool in feel. And then just as quickly it was gone and Kim gently reached down to pick up a spoon. "One of the problems of people hooking up with me in a way… being a hero, I mean. For Ron though it wasn't a problem to be my partner, but I understand that I'm a little hard to live with, considering my lifestyle."

"I don't have a problem with it!" Shego snapped defensively, and then she paused, blinking in disbelief and wondering why she'd responded that way to Kim's casual comment. She continued, far more calmly. "Um… no, I don't have a problem at all. Not with backing you up or you being a hero!"

Kim stared as Shego tried a weak smile, and then went back to carefully spooning blueberries into a small dish, her face calm. "I didn't say you _did_ have a problem with me being a hero or that 'we' have one either. You've been fine backing me up… except for an occasional rant about the fact I don't get paid for what I do."

"Yeah, I dunno why I… forget I said that, okay Kimmie?"

_Damn it. Let's try this again, before Kim either pounces with the truth or, if she really _does _have no idea, puts two and two together._

"Listen, you're a hero and you do the hero thing. I disapprove, you know that, because I've been there, done that, learnt my lesson." Shego watched Kim nod, and pour some orange juice into a glass. Her eyes were examining the sea, and Shego shifted uncomfortably. Again there was that… feel to the air. "But I don't stop you doing it, even when I think you should."

"You do suggest I charge people sometimes. And there was that time a few months back in the Congo with the drug runners. I recall you told me to leave them to that mudslide."

"Yeah, I know." Shego recalled that the shouting match afterwards had been, unpleasant was the best word. It had taken roses and a quiet dinner to patch that up. "But you ignored me, did your hero thing, and I didn't stop you. Remember, I helped even."

"Yeah, you did. I'd forgotten that." Kim admitted slowly, and just for a second her eyes flicked across Shego's own, loving warmth in them, before they cooled quickly and the young woman turned back to her bowl full of berries. "Where exactly are you going with this?"

_Here we go…_

"Well, I'm a thief." Shego pointed out, and then paused as Kim glanced up, and this time her expression was oddly neutral. Not annoyed, or understanding, or even amused… just neutral. "I think like one, act like one, I am one. You know that. You knew it when we hooked up."

"I did, and I do. Kinda hard to forget _how_ we hooked up. So what are you trying to tell me here?" Kim raised an eyebrow and Shego felt herself shiver inwardly at the shimmer of warning in the young woman's eyes. She wondered for a second how deep that warning actually went. "You're thinking of doing something wrong, something 'thiefy'? Because if so, we'll be having words, Shego, and so will Doctor Director. You know darn well that you promised me you'd behave when around me _and _you signed a contract with Global Justice. I thought you didn't break contracts?"

"I know I promised you, and I meant every word! I still mean every word! Being with you is damn important to me!" Shego managed, eyes wide as she realised just how much she'd verbally put her foot in it.

_Offensive, go on the offensive!_

"And I don't break contracts when I sign them! I just… I…"

Another part of the thief's mind rolled its eyes. _Coward… just _tell _her what you did. And then go for the romance to distract her! Be subtle, be sneaky! Be a goddamn thief and use your skills where they count! _

"You what?" Kim asked quietly, and Shego missed the subtle whisper of… something in her lover's tone as she fought to regain the point of the discussion.

"I'm not thinking of _doing _anything wrong." The thief managed finally, carefully phrasing her words. "No, not _doing _anything wrong. I just sometimes wonder if you remember who you're hooked up with."

"Shego," Kim sat back and Shego thought she saw… disappointment in her eyes for just a second, and then it was gone, Kim's gaze returning to a neutral expression once more. "What do you want me to say? That I've forgotten who you are? That you're a mercenary and a thief? That the sexy woman sitting across from me was only recently taken off the most wanted spot thanks to Doctor Director? That the only reason you're working for Global, though you complain every single day, is because for some reason you love me enough to do that."

"Kinda," Shego told her and realised she'd meant it. Somehow, her conversation to manipulate Kim into forgiving her had become something different and… deeply personal. Worse, it was worrying her further by the minute.

"Well, I _know _who you are, Shego. Trust me." As the green woman blinked at the tone of Kim's voice, which had been soft and carried the same oddness that had permeated the entire breakfast sitting, the redhead rose and stretched. "The past couple of days reminded me of who you are and who I fell in love with."

_What the _hell_ does that mean!?_ Shego thought, but even as she opened her mouth, Kim was trotting away from the table and heading for the beach.

For the first time in her life as far back as she wished to remember, Shego was very uncertain about herself.

_Was that the whole sexy green woman who loves her deeply angle, or one where I'm a thief and about to have my butt thoroughly pummelled? Why won't she just come out and tell me she knows! She has to know, her damn Kimmunicator can smell my plasma a mile away… but Kimmie's acting like… like… argh! What the hell is going on?_

"Is that good or bad?" She blinked at the words coming out of her own mouth, triggered somewhere from deep in her subconscious. Shego certainly listened to the strained tone in disbelief. What was she _doing_ to herself? It was like she was trying to dig her own grave or… or punishing herself for doing nothing more than knocking a snooty bitch down in a way she'd have thought nothing of before…Kim.

"Neither," Kim's tone was light as she stepped off the balcony and onto the sand, but that _goddamn _feel was back in the air and Shego growled under her breath. It made her unsettled and… worried. "You coming?"

"Eh?" The green woman shook herself from her thoughts. "For what?"

"Some Tai Chi and then a little sparring. We _were_ going to do it before breakfast, but then it all got mixed up." The redhead began to stretch. "You know how much a mission gets my adrenaline flowing and that I need some way to burn it off. Especially when it's pointless going after any guilty party involved."

Shego felt some part of her professional pride, and part of her own ego as well, smoulder at the words. "Pointless?"

"Sure, it was only that spoiled rich girl's car. What'd you call her? Oh yeah, Silicon Stacy right?"

Shego nodded, her mind reeling. _Pointless?_

"Honestly, whoever did it? So wasted their time even bothering to damage the car. The girl's nothing more than a joke, when you look at her attitude I mean. If she hadn't messed us around on the beach, I'd barely have given her the time of day. She's like a beach-based Bonnie. So full of herself, she's a joke."

Shego felt her mouth drop open. "Not worth it? But… she deserved it, Kimmie! She took our photo!"

_Shut up! Shut up before she works it out! _Shego's mind screamed at her, before another part chipped in quietly. _What if she already has… and this is her way of telling you? What're you going to do now, Ms 'I love being evil' Shego?_

"You sorted that out when she did, and humiliated her in the process… that was good enough for me. I loved that, and you were cool and sexy as you just ripped into her."

"Oh, right… um great. You liked that, me being… well, like we were in a fight?"

"Shego, you took her down a peg or two, and that _was _funny. Our fights were _way_ more than anything like that… they were special. Speaking of which…"

Kim danced around on the sand. The smooth muscles of her belly peeked out from between the T-shirt and shorts, rippling underneath her golden tanned skin. Long legs flashed out into a few practice kicks and counters, before slamming back into the sand with a muffled thud. Red hair waved in the breeze like it was alive, and her green eyes met Shego's with a mysterious expression that made the thief even more uneasy and confused.

"Well then?"

"Eh?" Shego managed, feeling a headache coming on. The strange feeling between them was back and now so oppressive it pressed on her mind.

_Someone tell me what is going _on_! I feel like we're fighting, but we're not. I keep waiting for her to bite my damn head off, but she's being… well, normal Kimmie. But I…I know something's up!_

If Shego had been paying attention to the woman who had literally stolen her heart, and was now causing the thief much confusion and guilt tripping, she would have smirked and pounced at the vision of beauty. Instead, because she _was _confused and trying to pretend she wasn't feeling guilty, the green woman stood watching and unconsciously nibbled her lip.

"Are we sparring or not?" Kim asked pointedly, continuing to dance and flex her body from side to side, her feet kicking up puffs of warm golden sand into the air.

_I told Marie this was stupid… the hero and the thief, jeez. And I don't _understand _relationships! Damn it! Kimmie knows, she _has _to know! What am I supposed to do?! _

"Um, sure we can…"

Kim nodded and slipped into her usual combat stance as Shego wandered, with just a moment's hesitation, down to the sand and adopted her usual pose for dealing with her one time nemesis.

"Spankin!"

* * *

Middleton

"That was fun!" Song Xie Ye-yu declared, walking down Middleton main street arm in arm with her sister. "Such security! And the guards were trained in some very nice martial arts. A shame it didn't stop us from incapacitating them though. I wonder which was more humiliating for Doctor Director? That we managed to break in, or that her guards were all incapacitated?"

"True and I also got to test my two new Trojan programs." Su smiled and enjoyed the sunlight on her back. "A very productive evening for the both of us. Though you worked off more energy than I."

"And I enjoyed myself immensely."

Song savoured the memory of the most violent and complex fight they'd encountered inside Global Justice.

_They hadn't sought out such a conflict – no, they had actually been looking for one of the primary inner guard rooms if she'd recalled the blueprints correctly. Regardless of where they'd been, the knot of guards they'd run into had been… well, exhilarating._

_The actual combat was, still, a blur. Song remembered the iron flavoured tang of her adrenaline as she'd ducked the initial steel baton that had whistled towards her head. The guard's cry of surprise as her young body had leaped towards him and, as she'd gripped his collar tightly, actually ran up his body and then lashed out with a kick that had snapped his head sharply around and plunged him into unconsciousness._

_Of course, the other guards hadn't taken that lying down. She recalled the frantic dive and roll behind a control desk when two guards went crazy with some sort of stun gun, and she'd listened to the violent snap and inhaled the acrid odour of high voltage discharge as the odd little projectiles had impacted the metal shielding her._

_The second she had heard the impacts cease and the sound of clips or cartridges rattle onto the floor; Song had sprang up, her own hands whipping to the shuriken on her belt, eyes already taking in the three targets that were desperately reloading._

How untrained… _Song had thought_. Any Jade member who guards our facility knows that if you are in a group, the simple way to lay repressive fire is to do so in sequence. Then, one can rely on the others to cover you while you reload. Still, human instinct will rule… and I can understand when fear grips you.

_However, understanding did not translate to sympathy, and her response of snarling, razor sharp disks impacting hands, quickly followed by screams of agony, was delivered with cool, focused eyes. With her opponents crippled, Song had flipped over the console, legs effortlessly taking the impact as she did so, and hurtled towards her foes as they cradled bleeding, shuriken impacted hands._

_A lunge at the closest guard, swiftly followed by a carefully judged palm strike to his chin, had the odds going from three to two as the guard's body slumped to the floor, out cold. The second, a sandy haired and middle aged man, went for the teenage ninja, only to meet a fist coming the other way, the muscles behind it so strong that the impact rocked him on his feet. Even as he teetered over, eyes rolling into the back of his head, Song had strode towards the last guard, who had staggered backwards desperately._

_"Just a second there, Ms." A voice had called, and Song had paused and turned her masked head, eyes wide in surprise, to see a female guard aiming the odd stun gun right at her face. "I'm gonna ask you to drop your weapons…"_

_"Great job, Laura." The male guard had managed, breathing a sigh if relief that mingled into a whimper from the pain in his hand._

_Song on her part had simply stood, eyes impassive, watching the guard as she shifted uncomfortably and flexed her sweaty grip on the gun. It had instantly become a standoff._

_"No problem. Now then, Ms Whoever-you-are, back up and then we'll… hurrggghh!"_

_Song had continued to watch, this time eyes gleaming with anticipation at the open vent grate that she had slipped out of barely a few minutes ago, as the thin wire, which had silently descended from behind a rainbow coloured yo-yo and then coiled upwards into a noose as unseen hands flipped the deceptive toy-like weapon with perfect skill._

_The guard's hands had gone slack, the gun dropping to the floor as she flapped them helplessly at the choking cord, its very thinness preventing her from loosening it. A choking whimper had escaped as her eyes started to roll into the back of her skull, and just before she expired, the tightened wire had slackened, allowing the guard to crumple to the floor, unconscious._

_With a scrape, the identically masked face of Su had poked out of the vent, quickly followed by the rest of her. "You said something insulting about my toys earlier?"_

_Song refrained from comment, watching as her sister had tucked the yo-yo back into her combat Shinobi with delicate precision, and then absentmindedly lashed out with a kick that sent the still conscious and terrified GJ guard against the wall where he slumped limply, unconscious._

_Though she had castigated herself at the time for being trapped in such a way, and though she hated the fact that Su had come to her aid when it should have been the other way around, Song had realised one thing as they'd worked their way deeper underground, heading for the GJ mainframe._

_And that had been how much of a delightful challenge it would be._

Su's voice snapped Song back to the here and now.

"I never understood this desire to impact your hands and feet against things… or blades." "Such a messy and base version of our talent. Why use them, savour them, when poison, traps, or a sufficiently powerful gun will allow you to kill neatly?"

"So says my sister, owner of the world's deadliest Yo-Yo."

"That," Su sniffed. "Is different. It is a trademark… our notification that we were responsible for our target's death."

"Speaking of trademarks…"Do you think they suspect?"

"That the Jade were responsible? I would be insulted if they did not." Su snorted. "Regardless, they were wide open for a counter assault. It was almost disappointing, especially considering they encountered Kara before the Jade itself. Was her performance that much of a shameful attempt that they underestimated us?"

"Kara was never… discreet if she could help it. But, do you think they will connect our attack here with our real intentions?"

"No, I find it doubtful. After all, they think they were not badly crippled from our visit. They probably think we were foolish in our attacks." She smiled. "Misdirection is a wonderful thing, sister."

"They will warn our two rezu," Song muttered, referring to Kim and Shego. "After all, they have incurred our displeasure even more than Global Justice. Any sensible leader would know this."

"Again, inconsequential. What needs to be done here is more important for our final attack." Su let her yo-yo dance on its string, her free hand flipping it gently. "I suppose if it becomes important, another attack could be arranged later on. We do still have substantial resources in the States."

"Why bother? We could go back and do it again ourselves, before we leave." Song suggested, her expression hungry and yearning for another fight.

"No, sister. GJ were caught unawares this time; however, they will not remain so for the foreseeable future." Su shrugged. "Besides, we have no reason to return. My viral attack was easy to insert into their network. By now they have probably discovered that whatever data was not destroyed by our little gift - underground and on the upper floors - is now fragmented and in ruins." She paused. "Though there was that other link I detected… the encryption and security protecting it was very impressive."

"A problem?" Song asked, quietly hopeful that it could lead to more combat.

"No, just something interesting." Her sister shook her head, dismissing the thought. "It wasn't an active data transfer when we were there; it was just active… and seemed to be civilian. Still, it was not important to our goals."

Song watched her sister for a second and then grinned. "Do you know what I wish to do tonight?"

Su sighed, dreading the next few seconds. Song could be a little… overenthusiastic sometimes. "No, what?"

"I wish for a large bottle of Saki… and some tequila. And maybe some male entertainers!"

"You are not old enough… for either vice." Su told her, smirking as Song snorted and glared at her. "Well, physically anyway."

"Don't, Su." Her sister muttered. "I told you, we should stop now. We have earned our place in the Jade. It is time to grow up and take more essential missions where we will not be laughed at for our visual age. I am _tired _of only the Grand Master understanding our lethality and giving us the respect we deserve!"

"Sister, sister. This has been such a boon to us in the past few years. Why should we stop?" Su waved a hand. "How many times have guards run past you in the street, or you have managed to reach a target due to their perversions, or that a point of access is just large enough for us and no-one else? Our choice has _made _us what we are - feared and respected."

Su quietly restrained herself from commenting that she, herself, enjoyed being a young teenager. It was almost wonderfully ironic to have this gift and to use it as she saw fit. Song, as well she knew, had loathed their choice for the past few years, always bringing up what they should be doing at every opportunity. But, as much as Su wanted to agree, and did in principle, she was having too much fun.

"And we are also laughed at behind our backs. It is time to stop this now. Please!" Song pleaded quietly. "I wish to enjoy myself, I want to drink freely, indulge myself freely. I want to be pleasured as I should be, and respected as I should be. I do not want to remain a child forever!"

"I know, Song." Su patted her arm. "It has been rather a long time, hasn't it? Perhaps, once this mission is completed and both Shego and Kim Possible are no longer a threat, we shall finally take our rightful places."

"You promise me this?" Her sister asked, suspicious. "I know you love this facade more than I."

"I do, I admit that. But I do not wish you to be bitterly unhappy, neechan." Su sighed. "If you wish to end this, then I shall agree. But not before we finish this mission. For now, the advantages outweigh your unhappiness."

Song nodded reluctantly. "It will not come soon enough. Very well then, and so to our next step?"

Su grinned and pulled her sister along the high street once more. "With Global Justice incapacitated for the moment, it leaves our two sickeningly in love rezu open to attack. Now, we simply need to learn their location."

"And how will we accomplish this? We know they have left Middleton, but to where we have no idea. For this to work, we must be in the right place to strike and-."

"That is easier than you think," Su interrupted. "They are on holiday; we know this because of our own sources in Middleton, correct?" Song nodded and her sibling smirked. "Those same sources have reported that Ms Possible is using her passport in her name. So, it is a simple matter for our hacking section in Taiwan to monitor the flights for a 'Kim Possible' to appear on the flight list. It should be simple to track her from there."

"What if she uses a private flight and does not need a ticket? She is famous, and if she wishes to arrive without media attention then her green lover has the funds to easily-"

"No matter where they go, passport control will still log one Ms Possible entering the country in question, sister."

"Oh, oh!" Song chuckled. "You are clever, anee."

"In matters such as these? I know." Su smirked. "And once we know where they are, we can brush up on your acting skills, dear sister of mine…"

* * *

St Thomas Airport

_Son of a bitch, three hours later and it's still throbbing!_

Shego leaned against the glass wall of the island's main Airport terminal and surreptitiously tried to cradle her throbbing arm, all the while keeping it away from Kim's point of view as the redhead sat quietly on a chair reading one of the free magazines in the airport departure lounge.

The injury, actually just a very deep bruise, had been an accident. Shego was sure of that, unless Kim had somehow decided to land a blow from her leg with pin point accuracy onto the one area Shego hadn't been defending.

It had to be an accident…

Of course, the thief knew that their sparring could often cause injury. She'd landed some impressive blows on Kim from time to time and hadn't apologised as it was a hazard of sparring. If you didn't want to get hit, move. Or, alternatively, don't bother sparring in the first place.

And it _had _been an accident, right? Right?!

Even though she'd felt the same odd sensation swirling between them as often as the puffs of golden sand had drifted into her face, as they'd lashed out with kicks and punches. That odd, unsettled feeling… no matter how much Kim said everything was fine, it sure didn't feel that way.

But still, her arm throbbed like a bitch and she growled inwardly. Maybe she should have given in to herself and taken a few painkillers before they'd packed. But if Kim had seen, she'd have wanted to know why she was taking them, and Shego didn't want her bad girl attitude damaged. She'd never hear the end of it.

She especially didn't want the redhead knowing how much of a blow she'd landed… that would be the icing on the cake right now. Especially considering that Shego also had an aching cheek as well, and had finally suffered, in immensely tolerant silence if she had any say in the matter, the airport taxi drive from hell.

It had been a trip that Shego had, initially at least, been perfectly fine with. It would give her a chance to start working out what was going on with Kimmie and herself in relative privacy. It would allow her to quietly explain to Kim what had happened, to apologise, and to accept anything verbal in relative privacy. The fact that the cab would also prevent there being enough room for Kim to attack her if she chose to was also a major factor.

Until of course, Kim, with her infinite generosity, offered to share a cab with an elderly couple from Ohio who were on an anniversary holiday themselves. How, exactly, Kim had actually been roped into this was a mystery to Shego, but she recalled with horrible clarity as they waited for their flight to be called in the VIP lounge, the actual events leading up to the taxi ride.

* * *

She'd come from their room, ignoring the laboured breathing of the bellhop behind her as he yanked her three large green cases, and Kim's same sized single brown one, into the reception area, and had cast a glance around looking for the redhead in question.

And there Kim had been, chatting to two elderly people, a smile on her face, and her hands gesturing wildly. Shego had been a little nonplussed by the situation in front of her, and had wandered up, a frown on her face.

"Shego! This is Jack and Valerie, they're on their diamond anniversary together." Kim beamed at her and the two people standing next to her turned smiled politely.

"Well, well," The man murmured, his grey eyes twinkling. "I can see why you're somitten with her. The whole package is quite… imposing." Shego was uncertain how to take that, and she opened her mouth, only for Jack to continue. "What was it for you, Kim? The smouldering green eyes, the dark silk of her hair… or was it that seductive lure of danger about her?"

Shego blinked, speechless.

_Wait a second… did he… is this old guy _hitting _on me? I mean jeez, I'm young enough to be his-_

"Jack, you behave yourself!" The woman, Valerie, as grey-haired and amused as her husband, jabbed him in the ribs. "Going around, embarrassing this poor young thing like that. She doesn't need someone your age acting like you're nineteen around her, and you shouldn't be doing it either. You know you have a heart condition."

"But-"

"And then there's the fact that you're old enough to be her grandfather. Oh, and the little other matter," the grey haired woman crossed her arms across her chest. "That you happen to be married, Jack, to me! That we're on vacation, our anniversary in fact… so you shouldn't be "hitting" on anyone at all!

"Yes, Valerie." Jack had mumbled, and then glanced across at Kim and winked. "Is it the pale green skin? I think so, very exotic."

_Exotically skinned? What the fu-_

"Jack!"

"Sorry, Valerie."

"It's okay, Mrs Breeman, I sometimes find myself staring at her a lot too."

"Well, you two are in love, dear, you have a right to do so. Jack here is old enough to be her grandfather and should know better."

"I often wonder if I do actually. After all, a beautiful woman is a beautiful woman, no matter her age." Jack grinned and leaned down to brush in lips across his wife's hand gently. "It's why I'm still deeply in love with you, Valerie."

Valerie sniffed, and as Kim chuckled and Jack winked at the redhead with a twinkle in his eye, she turned to give Shego an appraising stare, the intensity of which had the thief cringing inside.

"So, Kim here tells us you used to be a thief. I recall seeing you on the television now. You worked for that man who looked like he'd fallen into a vat of blue paint."

Shego glanced accusingly across at Kim, who smiled faintly in her direction. "Yeah, I am. Yeah, I did… though I still wonder why I stayed with him for as long as I did. And yeah, I've been on TV quite a bit, often playing fisticuffs with Kimmie here."

Valerie narrowed her eyes. "And now you're involved with her? Hmmm… I hope your intentions towards Kim here are genuine, Ms Go"

Shego stared in disbelief. Kim had been talking to the old woman for, what, ten minutes? And now here she was, acting all concerned and motherly… no, like a damn grandmother over the redhead.

"After all, I'm sure we all want what's best for Kimberley, don't we? So… tell me the truth, Ms Go, you _are _intending to make an honest woman out of Kim, yes?

_I just don't fucking believe this! First, Mrs Possible threatens to try out experimental brain surgery on me if I even so much as make Kimmie cry in her presence. Then Mr Possible threatens to send me into outer space if I screw up. Kimmie's grandmother sent me a box of lemon squares… and the other Possible's all looked at me like I was on death row when she did... even Pumpkin winced! Now I have this 'adopted' grandmother questioning my intentions? __What the hell is it? The green skin, my voice, attitude? What makes them all think I'm no damn good for my cupcake? Well scew that!" _

"It's Shego." The green woman muttered. "Not Ms or Miss anything. Just Shego, okay? And if you're looking for me to defend what I am, or how I ended up meeting Kimmie, then tough. It was being a thief, fighting her day after day, that allowed me to work out what she means to me."

"Really." Valerie glanced across at Kim. "Well in that case… You're keeping her on the straight and narrow, Kim dear?"

The redhead smiled faintly again. "I try my best, but I love her too much to try and change her."

_Yeah… change. Ha ha… fantastic. _Shego thought, the ball of guilt that roiled in her belly giving her an extra punch at the loving smile Kim sent her_. "I am so fucking dead if she finds out…_

"That's good to know. Well then," Valerie reached over and gently patted Shego on the arm before the green woman could stand back. "You be good to her, young lady. While I disapprove of what you've done, everyone deserves a second chance. Besides, if you make Kim here happy, then that's good enough for me."

Shego huffed. Somehow she felt as though she was being insulted in some way, but the cheerful and the tone of the woman in front of her had been supportive. However, even she could privately admit that small talk- and situations which required it - were not her strong suite. And as for Kim, her relationship with the young woman, and the family that came with it…well, that still terrified her, even after months of trying to work out how to act around them.

"Not that I need your approval," She grumbled. "But thanks, I think. I really value your opinion."

"Oh, sarcastic, witty, and tough too." Jack's eyes went dreamy. "Oh yes, I can see why you love her so much, Kim. I really can."

"Jack!" Valerie smacked him again, this time far harder, causing the old man to wince a little and then grin.

Shego glanced across at the old man. _What the… ew! Just eww in so many ways… I wonder if Senoir Senior Senior thinks about me like that whenever I come by. He _does _grip that damn cane a lot tighter whenever he's walking behind me, I know that much, and… eww! Don't think about it!_

Before Shego could reply, Kim had stepped between her and the two elderly people. "Turns out that Jack and Valerie are heading to the airport as well. They've got a flight to catch for Cuba. It's leaving about half an hour after ours, so I said they might as well share our cab."

Shego felt her spine stiffen with indignant annoyance. The cab was supposed to be for her and Kim only. Hell, the whole holiday was supposed to be just about the two of them. "Really, Kimmie?"

"Why not?" Kim replied, shrugging. "Makes sense as we're heading in that direction and the taxis here are more than big enough. And the trip itself isn't that long, so yeah I don't see a problem at all."

"But I… I mean we…" Shego clenched her fists. "I wanted to talk to you about something…"

"Oh?" Kim raised an eyebrow. "About what?"

"Stuff!" Shego hissed, her tone annoyed, only to pause and continue in a calmer voice as Jack and Valerie glanced at each other, concern in their eyes for the young couple in front of them. "Important stuff, Kimmie. Look if you must know, I wanna tell you something personal in fact."

"We don't want to be that much of a trouble, Kim." Jack glanced over at his wife, who sighed and nodded almost imperceptibly. "We can get our own taxi."

"Don't be silly, it'll be fine." Kim assured them, ignoring the intake of breath from her side. "Look, do you have everything you need?"

"Oh, well I did want to pick up a few things from the reception desk before we leave. Take care of a few things, call the office and do a quick check on everything. Can you wait for us?"

"Sure we can. We'll be right here when you come back." Kim glanced across at Shego and sighed. "Take your time too."

"Well, okay. Back in a minute or so." Jack told her, and taking Valerie's hand they headed off towards the reception desk of the resort.

Kim glanced across at Shego and tilted her head slightly. Shego stared at the redhead with a mixed expression of annoyance and betrayal. Finally, Shego thinned her black lips and growled in annoyance.

"Great, just great. Thanks to you, we've gotta put up with a load of boring conversation for fifteen minutes." She huffed. "And didn't you hear me? I've got something I want to talk to you about, Kimmie. Something really important… something you've got to know about."

_Don't ask me what it's about… please, not here. Not now._

"Well, we're on a long haul flight for nine hours or so." Kim replied, her voice calm and reasonable. So calm, that Shego frowned as she felt the same… something in the air again. "There'll be plenty of time to talk about anything you want, Shego. And, big plus, you'll have a captive audience, won't you? Besides, we-" Kim broke off suddenly, glancing behind Shego, and paled. "Oh no. Please no… not now."

"What?"

The thief turned to see who was behind her, only to have her head snap to one side, the cheek flaming red as a hand lashed across it in a powerful slap. Under attack, Shego did the only thing she could and took a single step back, disorientated from the unexpected assault, as a screaming face shot into view barely inches from her own.

"Bitch! It was you, wasn't it!?" The face roared into hers, a flash of blond curls wrapped around a blurred mix of makeup and rage. "My car! You destroyed my car!"

"Get the hell away from me!" Shego snapped, instantly realising who it was in front of her. Gloved hands lashing out with a slap of her own that forced Stacy a few staggering steps back, a bright red imprint of Shego's left hand on her cheek, allowing Shego to regain her composure and snarl. "Damn it, not you again you stupidly vapid little bimbo!"

Stacy, clad in a white cotton top and a trendy chic skirt and boots, curled her fingers into claws, the red nails at the end of her hands ready to tear into the green woman's skin.

"Fuckin Dyke!" Stacy snapped, launching herself back at Shego. "First my camera, and now my car? You're gonna pay, for everything!"

"Me? You actually lay a finger on _me _and think that I'm the one who's gonna pay for it?" Shego's own hands curled, the razor sharp black fingernails gleaming in the sunlight with deadly promise, to say nothing of her steely muscles that bunched under pale green skin in anticipation of the fight to come. "Oh, you're already dead meat, Silicon! You've just not realised it yet!"

_Okay, I've played nice, I've sat on my temper, I've listened to Kim and tried to not to deal with this annoying like cow far too many times now. And god knows what this crap's done, and going to do, to our relationship. Just this once, I'm going to actually put this stuck up little bitch in her place!_

"I don't care who you are, or that people think you're some sort of shit-hot bitch! You're going to pay for screwing with me, my precious car that daddy bought me, you… you evil green skinned whore!" And with that, Stacy ran at Shego, eyes wide and blond hair waving out behind her like a shimmering tail. "I'm gonna slap you into next week!"

Every single person in the reception area watched the unfolding scene with wide eyes. Some began to quietly record what was happening on video cameras, aiming to show the resulting video to friends and relatives back home. More tried to suppress excited laughter as the fuming blond beach girl attacked Shego with wild abandon. For many, it was a rare flash of excitement in a relatively boring life.

Many of the resort staff hung back, knowing Stacy and her father all too well, far more knowing of Stacy alone and her attitude to what she called the 'help'. Others- most of them panicked managers seeing a very unhappy owner- and a few concerned security staff, moved swiftly in, attempting to prevent a crazy situation becoming worse.

Shego herself was itching to go a round with Stacy, to finally beat the insulting and snobby blonde into a moaning, twitching pulp of human flesh. She'd had enough of the girl lording it over everyone just because her precious father owned the resort and allowed her to rein supreme over every single staff member in it. More her attitude struck exactly the wrong chord with the ex-hero.

It had nothing to do with the fact that Shego herself could have bought and sold the place five times over with barely a blink, and had very little to do with the fact that the blonde had struck her. No, what drove Shego's desire to make Stacy need a little plastic surgery in the future was very simple.

Kim and herself… Stacy had ruined their privacy.

So, it was a shock to all, when a red blur slammed into Stacy and pinned her against the glass wall of the reception area.

"Let go of me!" Stacy screamed as Kim held her firmly against the wall. "I said let go!"

"Not in this lifetime." Kim answered, increasing the pressure slightly. "Now calm down, you're making a scene."

"Yes, please calm down Ms Stacy!" The reception manager, dressed in an elegant suit and wearing a harried expression, wrung his hands with anxiety. "You're going to damage the reputation of the resort. Please!"

"Calm down? Calm down?!" The blonde struggled against Kim's retraining hands and hissed out furious breaths as her efforts simply made the redhead hold her tighter. "My car that daddy gave me is ruined, the camera he owns is busted and he'll be furious about that, and that green bitch is just going to walk out of this hotel without payback? I don't think so!"

"Hey, serves you right for being a snobby little intrusive cow!" Shego growled, ignoring the pointed look Kim gave her. "I just wanted a little private holiday with my girlfriend here, without coming across an intolerant asshole. I failed thanks to you. So I don't give a damn about what happened to you! I'd call it justice."

"Why you-" Stacy managed, before Kim jerked her upright and began to push her out the door. "Let me go!"

"I'm going to take her outside, let her cool off." Kim told the manager, who nodded in relief. "Could you do us a favour and check that our taxi is coming? I think the best thing is if Shego and I leave. That way, we'll remove the problem Ms Stacy has with my girlfriend."

"Problem?! My problem is that she's a two faced, lying, freaky green mutant!"

Shego stiffened at the comment, her fingers clenching tightly in their gloves. Something that Kim noticed… causing her eye to twitch ever so slightly.

"Certainly, Ms Possible." The manager sighed in relief, and glanced across at Shego, whose teeth were bared in anger. "On behalf of the sunshine resort itself, allow me to thank both yourself and your… partner for being so understanding. I can only apologise for what has happened here today."

"Really, it wasn't a problem at all." Kim told him.

"You didn't just get slapped!" Shego huffed.

Ms Go, I do apologise as well."

"Don't apologise to that goddamn dyke!" Stacy managed before Kim hauled her outside and the door. Shego on her part let out a huff of annoyance and glanced at the manager who continued to wring his hands.

"It's fine." She muttered, and glanced in the direction Kim had gone. "Really, everything's fine."

_Damn it Kimmie, you're making me feel like a damn heel. _The thief slid into one of the soft chairs in the reception area and scrubbed a hand across her face. Kim's belief in her, hah, innocence was beginning to really rip into her and Shego scowled. _Not my damn fault! All this isn't my fault! Well, not all of it._

"Shego?" The thief looked up to see Valerie staring down at her with concern. Jack stood next to his wife, equally concerned. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, fine. Just waiting for Kim to come back."

"We saw her dealing with that nasty little piece of work." Jack scowled. "Horrible woman, I don't know why they don't just ask her to leave."

"Her father partly owns the resort." Shego replied, suddenly feeling very tired. "And yeah, she's quite the piece of work. I know someone who would have probably been amused by her attitude. I didn't like _her_ much either."

"Was she blonde as well?" Jack asked.

"Asian… I suppose you could call her cute, though she always reminded me of a rotweiller. I think it was the insane look in her eyes."

"Is Kim going to be long?" Valerie asked, worried.

"I have no idea…"

* * *

"Damn you!" Stacy screamed as Kim pushed her a few more steps along the patio. The only reason the blonde was even obeying this simple suggestion was due to Kim's subtle arm lock, along with a generous dose of strength to keep it uncomfortable but not painful. Not until it was required anyway.

"Shut up, for once in your life just shut up." Kim snapped.

Spying a chair and table with a parasol, the redhead forced Stacy into it and then slid into the seat next to her. The blonde opened her mouth, anger snapping in her eyes, but Kim raised a single finger and for once Stacy closed it unwillingly.

"Okay, lets lay some cards on the table here, especially after that little display in there." Kim stared at the woman in front of her and was met with sullen silence. "I think, first off, I can say that I really don't like you at all. You're an evil, sullen, pampered woman who reminds me of this girl I used to know in school. She was an ice queen too, just like you."

"How dare you-"

"Shut up. For once, Stacy isn't it? For once, you're going to listen to someone else for a change. Especially when that someone just saved your life."

"Saved my life? From that weirdo? Please…"

Kim stared at the blonde with an expression of such icy calm that anyone watching would have mistook for the redhead being cold. The truth of the matter was revealed by the slight twitch of her right eye, as her willpower barely held her growing rage at the awful excuse for a human being in front of her.

"So, do you know who she is," Kim asked, settling back and eyeing the woman in front of her with total distaste. "Really?"

"Oh come on! The green skin is a total freak giveaway! That's Shego and-"

"Don't… call… the… woman… I… love… a… freak!" Kim managed, speaking _very _slowly and carefully. She drew a long breath and then let it out slowly before attempting to deal with the woman in her grasp.

"Yeah, Shego's her name alright. The same Shego who fires steel melting plasma from her hands. You had a little demonstration of that ability when you ticked her off yesterday, on the beach." Kim stared at the blonde and watched her scowl. "That green glow around her hands? Not a trick of the light, Stacy."

"I don't care that-"

"What, that she could have flash fried you in seconds?" Kim shook her head. "Okay, how about that she could have messed you up. I mean seriously messed you up to the point of requiring plastic surgery to even sip lunch through a straw? She could have done it you know," Kim paused and waited, hoping it sank in. "The only reason she didn't, was because of me. I stepped in, and god knows why, she loves me enough to keep a rein of her very impressive temper."

"She'd end up the worse off!"

"You're joking right?" Kim sighed and smiled wryly. "Listen, Shego would've done things to you that would have made the goriest and horrific horror movie look like a kids' matinee. We're talking a lot more plastic surgery for you… only with hot plasma. Understand?

"That's crap!" Stacy hollered, though she had gone pale.

"Y'know, I'm seriously beginning to wonder why I bothered." Kim smiled coolly. "You insulted me on the beach, I'm well aware of that. You insulted me in the bar, I know that too. You invaded my privacy and took photos of us when you know very well this resort is _based _on privacy. You are, in fact, one of the very few people I end up wondering why I saved. Heck, the only reason I did pull you out of there was because I'm a hero, much to Shego's disappointment, through and through. Oh, and also because I care for Shego and I don't want to see her arrested for teaching you a lesson."

"She ruined my car!" Stacy yelled.

"Prove it, if you can!" Kim replied calmly. "If you can't, then by all means go back in there and try again. Only this time, I'm not going to step in and try to stop you from having bits of that silicon packed body melted into hot puddles of glop."

"You can't pull me out here and threaten me like this!" Stacy screamed, eyes bulging as she tried to stand up. "I won't tolerate-"

"The truth? Manners? Oh, how about common courtesy? Because if that's what you were going to say, then yeah, I get that." Kim yanked the blonde back down onto the plastic chair and sniffed. "We're going anyway, thank god. I hope I never see you again in my whole life." Sliding to her feet and moving to turn away, Kim paused and glanced back for a second. "You better hope you never meet Shego again… especially if I'm not there."

With that, Kim Possible turned away from the woman whose life she had saved and walked back to the thief, mercenary and ex-villainess in her life, who she valued infinitely more, let alone loved.

As for Stacy, as Kim walked away the blonde shot out of the plastic chair and moved to lunge forward and grab the redhead by the hair. Sadly, she never noticed that wearing stiletto heels around a poolside area was a good idea, especially when said area was covered in a neat layer of plastic webbing designed to aid swimmers with traction when walking around the outside of the pool. It was not, however, designed to cope with stiletto heels, and Stacy barely managed a single scream as the point of her right shoe caught in one of the plastic hexagons, causing the blonde to topple backwards into the very same pool her Porsche had plunged into.

The quiet splash of a young female body hitting unheated, and car oil slicked water, was a wonderfully ironic justice.

* * *

Sighing and slumping into one of the plush chairs the VIP lounge had arranged artfully around it, Shego glanced over at the redhead in the seat next to her and scowled.

Not a single word, not one, had passed Kim's lips since they'd arrived at the airport about her little outside time with that blonde headed bimbo. In fact, when Kim had slipped back into the reception area and touched Shego on the shoulder, the thief could only stare in secret dismay at the cool expression on Kim's face. It wasn't curious, or even chastising about what happened. No, it seemed to convey that Kim had no interest at all in what Stacy had said, or had been intending to do.

And that left the same damn questions for Shego herself. Did Kim know it was her? If she did, why wasn't she being yelled at? It had happened before; numerous times in fact in the six months they'd begun to feel their way through their blossoming romance. So why not now?

And if Kim _didn't_ know about what she'd done, then why did she feel this subtle… thing between them right now?

Growling, the thief shifted on her chair, unable to settle into it and read a magazine, unlike Kim who had seemed to accomplish this in seconds.

She wasn't even bored; like she usually ended up becoming while waiting during one of those rare times she had to pick up an actual public flight. Not this time…no. She just couldn't settle.

The movement caught the eyes of the two occupants adjacent to her, and Jack and Valerie glanced up, watching the green woman mildly.

"You okay?" Valerie asked quietly.

"Mmn…" Shego mumbled, barely able to muster her usually abrasive attitude.

_It's this damn thing… this pressure or… or whatever it is! _Miserable, Shego continued to shift and grumble in her chair, picking up and then ignoring the magazines on the table for a further fifteen minutes until, insanely miserable, she decided to turn to one of the few things that could cheer her up when she felt this way.

Shopping.

But it wasn't that much fun alone. Besides, Kim was an excellent shopping pal as well as a lover. She knew that from her hazy fragmented memories as Ms Go.

"Kimmie?" She cursed inwardly at how… cautious she sounded at the moment. It was like Kim's name would set off some sort of bomb and have the redhead launching violently into her.

The teen hero glanced up and raised a single eyebrow, and again Shego felt the… the _thing _between them thicken and grow. "Yes, Shego?"

"I… um. I'm kinda bored and we're going to be waiting for another hour or so before they call us onboard. There were shops back there, I think I might go and have a look." She made an effort and smiled as seductively as she could. "Wanna come with? I'll buy you anything you think's cute and hot…"

"No thanks. I'm really interested in this magazine." Kim told her, again in a totally neutral and calm voice. The same tone that Shego was beginning to fear, even more than when she lashed out with that impressively restrained temper that Shego knew she had hidden deep inside. That, the green woman thought with mounting uncertainly, would have been far better. She could fix things from there… if they needed to be fixed.

"Okay… well, do you mind if-"

"No, not at all." Kim returned to her magazine and Shego felt her heart drop, all the while cursing inwardly. "Go knock yourself out if you want."

"Kay." Shego muttered, the single word all she could think of as her mind span with mounting worry.

_What the hell is going on between us? A few days ago I'm enjoying every moment with her, I can't get enough of Kimmie being… Kimmie. Now, thanks to that beach bitch, it's… changed._

The thief slid to her feet and walked slowly towards the shopping mall area.

_I can't take this much more, even if I knew what the hell _this _is! I'm a damn ex-villainess, not someone who understands this crap! Someone _tell _me what's happening!_

She wandered around the airports shops with little interest. The jewellery store, often a great place to cheer her up as she picked out a few trinkets that she mentally set aside to steal the next time she passed one of the same chains on business, did nothing for her this time. She stared at the glittering jewels, and could only wonder why Kim seemed as cold as some of the diamonds that shone inside, and then ended up growling in frustration at how sappy it sounded to feel that way.

Shego had just decided to visit the bar; even knowing that it was a bad idea considering her high tolerance for alcohol thanks to comet mutated blood chemistry, when a voice called her name from behind.

"Hey, Shego. Got a second?"

Turning, Shego blinked at the sight of Jack walking towards her, his expression cheerful. Inwardly she groaned and bit off a curse. If Kim was being nice to them, then so should she… if only for a quiet life. Sighing, Shego put on her best 'friendly' expression and waited patiently. Time with Kim's family, especially the tweebs, sadly, had been paying off in regards to this sort of situation.

"Sure, I guess so. What can I do for you Mr Breeman?"

"Jack, Shego. Call me Jack." The old man smiled and as he closed the last few metres, waved a hand towards the bar. "And you can let an old man buy a beautiful woman like yourself a drink."

"Jeez…" Shego muttered, rolling her eyes, and then flushing as Jack grinned. "Not really your type, Jack."

"Yeah, I know. Old fogy like me, hanging around a pretty young girl in a bar… What is the world coming to?" The grin widened. "How about if I say please? I'll let you have anything you want drink wise."

Normally, Shego would have smirked at that offer and then ordered the most expensive drink she could find on the bar menu. And always make it the largest size possible if they offered such a service.

She had often had found it amusing to chat up one or two of the shady millionaires at Big Daddy's club, and then order a magnum of the most expensive champagne, before downing it in one. It was kind of her party piece and it always cheered her up to see their horrified face as a couple of grand vanished in seconds… plus the splitting of the champagne cost, with the hefty 'service fee' added on, between her and Brotherson had been a nice plus too.

Now though, much to her annoyance, she decided to just get a glass of the strongest thing the bar had, and hope that it had enough clout, even against her biochemistry, to cheer her up.

_God, am I that miserable? _She thought, before nodding at Jack and striding into the bar ahead of him. _Looks like I am… Kimmie must be one of the two people who can really screw me up if they want to._

A few minutes later and she was sitting at a stylish table, a glass of something the barman had promised as being his 'special mix' in front of her, and her pale green hands playing with the macadamia nuts in the centre of the table.

She hatred that her guilt and mounting confusion and worry over Kim's attitude, and what the hell did she mean by 'Kim's attitude' when her Pumpkin was being _normal_, had brought her to the point of sitting in the damn bar in the first place.

And that was to say nothing about her wizened bar partner.

"Want to talk about it?"

Shego jerked upright in her chair and glanced across at the man opposite her, who sipped from a pint of Guinness and eyed her speculatively. She sighed and ran a hand through her long dark hair, a sign of stress she had little interest in hiding.

"Look, Mr… Jack. I'm crappy at doing the small talk, to be honest I hate the whole idea of being 'pally' with anyone, and I like being a loner more often that not. So, if you wanna drink with me, feel free, but don't expect me to chat with you like in a damn soap!" She broke off and closed her eyes.

"Man, you're acidic." Jack told her, amusement in his voice. "No wonder Kim's smitten with you. I bet she gets a real kick out of having that tone aimed at her."

"Acidic?" Shego repeated, staring at the older man with a spurt of irritation. "I'm not damn acidic! I just hate idiots and lazy morons who try to come off as being superior to anyone else… especially me!"

Chuckling, Jack nodded. "Yup, she's gotta be in love with you to put up with that…"

Growling, Shego stood. "Look, Kim may have been chatting to you and enjoying herself, but I'm not going to sit here and be insulted. I've got more important stuff to think about! Such as Kimmie and the…the… the stuff that's going on with us right now! Something's going on between us, but I don't expect you give a damn, except that we're lesbian lovers or some crap and you find it exciting!"

The thief didn't notice that her voice had risen to a high speed yell until her lungs ached with a lack of air and, turning, she noticed the various groups around her had stopped talking to each other and were watching her, some amused, some disgusted, some embarrassed… all of them scared to some degree.

"What are you all looking at?!" She hissed, and everyone in the bar quickly turned back to their drinks.

"I think you need a sympathetic shoulder." Jack murmured, taking a sip of his Guinness and watching quietly as the woman in front of her turned a scowl of utter fury back in his direction. Taking a handful of nuts, he began to chew each one slowly. "I know you'll probably snort at the idea of some guy your girlfriend's become friends with understanding what's been going on, or even 'giving a damn' as you put it."

"Doy! Then you'll understand if I think you haven't got a goddamn clue what's been going on between us!" Shego snapped in agreement, and her hand whipped out to grab the small glass from the table.

As she slammed the drink back and took a deep swallow, Jack nodded in understanding and then, after a few seconds, sighed wryly. No matter how much the thorny and aggressive woman in front of him wished to deal with the problem on her own, he doubted she had the… well, experience in regards to relationships to deal with it – at least properly.

God knew that he and Valerie both could feel the mounting pressure between the two in the taxi as they'd ridden to the airport, and then again in the lounge as they'd waited for their flight. It had been Valerie who'd nudged him quietly and who, after they'd gone to 'check on their flight' had asked him to 'take Shego in hand and sort it out'.

His wife was astute as always, Jack mused, and he did want to help the two young women keep their relationship developing the way it was. Even he could see there was one heck of a connection between them. It was just that right now, something big was getting in the way.

Besides, considering the young blonde woman's screaming fit, and just who it was who sat in front of him- after all, Jack watched the news as much as anyone and Shego often made headlines as much as Kim herself- he had a good idea what.

Taking another sip of beer, he sighed and bit the bullet.

"What'd you do to piss Kim off?"

Shego flinched, and glared at him with an even hotter gaze. Jack could almost swear that her pupils were trying to bore a hole into his head. "She's not pissed off!"

Shego felt her hands curl into claws and she felt her teeth grit as her plasma flickered for just a second in the palm of her hands as she fought her temper and her normal reaction to use it.

"Oh yeah, she is." Jack countered calmly, watching as the thief flinched a second time.

_Oh, you know she is… but you don't know why and it's messing you up. Isn't it, gal?_

"No, she's not!" Shego repeated in almost a snarl, and then to her own shock collapsed into her chair and cradled her head in her hands and the snarl became a moan of misery. "I can handle Kimmie when she's pissed off, I _like _her when she's pissed off! She looks so damn sexy - it's just like when I first met her, only way better! Hell, even when we fight it makes everything just… just better between us! I'd know what to _do _if she was angry with me!" The thief looked up, green eyes wild. "But this… this is… different. She's… normal, cool around me and… no, she's _acting _normal, but I can tell that it's hiding something and… and it's _pissing_ meoff for no reason and-"

"She knows…" Jack told her quietly, and popped another nut, ignoring the suddenly horrified stare that slid onto Shego's face. "What you did, whatever it was? She knows about it… knows it was you. And she's really upset and angry about it."

"Bullshit." She whispered, standing up and then clenching a hand into a fist. "She'd tell me if she knew I was the one who tossed the Porsche into the damn pool! I'd have an endless lecture, a little ranting, and stuff about her being a hero, followed by a good fight, and then after that would come the good stuff! She wouldn't just act normal and-"

"Look, Shego, sit down a second." The older man watched as Shego slumped back into the chair. "I have no idea how you two first hooked up, how you ended up falling in love, or why part of that love for each other involves wild combat." He chuckled for a second and sipped beer, and then patted her gently on the arm, ignoring her flinch at the gesture. "I do get that you're a bit of a loner, arrogant, a little abrasive, and certainly wild."

Shego lifted her head enough to glare at him. "Gonna get to any of my good bits soon, Pops?"

"I don't think we've had enough time together." Jack replied, and tried not a laugh as she growled. "But Kim has, and she _does _love you. It's because she loves you so much that she's doing that age old trick many a husband, or in your case partner, has ended up falling foul to. Heck, I adore Valerie with all my heart, but when she does what Kim is doing to you? I could throttle her."

"But Kimmie isn't _doing _anything to me!" Shego snapped out, desperation in her tone. "She's being totally normal and calm, even if it is a damn act! And it's _me _who feels this whole oppression thing-"

"Yeah, I hate it when they give you that treatment. The whole 'everything is fine, because I'm making an effort' punishment. The passive aggressive treatment… Horrible… because they're being so reasonable and not yelling at you. You can't yell back, because then you're admitting you did what you're pretending you haven't, and that'll allow them to be _really _angry with you, because now you've lied to them."

The thief stared at him in sudden shocked silence, and as he sipped his beer, Jack watched the various emotions ripple across her beautiful face. Finally, Shego seemed to decide on uncertainly.

"I… Kim's punishing me by acting, well, normal?"

"Yup. As I said, horrible."

"That's stupid!" She snapped. "Why the hell would she do that?"

"I told you. When your loved one's done something they really don't want you to fine out, and you do, well… Basically, from what I've learned from Val? Punishing you by acting like everything's _fine _is just one hell of a good way of cranking the guilt up until they snap."

Jack shrugged. "In your case, it's a certain someone causing a Porsche to end up in a pool, lying to Ms Possible, the love of her life, to hide her tracks," Shego hunched at his quiet scolding tone. "And this has lead to Kim finding out what you've done... She's letting your guilt eat you alive. She's letting you punish yourself."

"Okay, what you said? On the level of Doctor D stupidity and… and…" Shego paused and unbidden memories of the past few hours trickled back to her.

The way Kim had acted at breakfast, the sparring, the odd looks, the times she spoke with almost a total lack of emotion, the evasiveness whenever she had prompted Kim to tell her what she'd found, and in particular the disappointment that had flashed in her eyes when Kim had forced Stacy to exit the reception… the disappointment aimed at her alone. The fact that Kimmie was trying to act like everything was fine.

She looked up, horror etched into her face. "Fuck me! She does know! She _knows _it was me!"

"Yup, and she's using one of the oldest tricks in the book to make you feel guilty about it. Being normal and acting like everything's fine… when _you _know it isn't and you can _feel _it in the air between you."

_This is crap… it can't be… I mean… Kimmie knows I did it!?_

Shego shook her head, almost desperate to poke holes into Jack's understanding of something she had no clue about. "It still sounds like some sort of mystical joo-joo crap to me. I'm not some sort of psychic!"

"Nah. What you've got, Shego, is a situation where you know Kim so well, because you love her and know almost everything about her, that you can tell she's upset with you. _Despite_ the act she's put on to tell you otherwise." He smiled. "That's love for you. And you're guilty about it because, I'm guessing, she asked you not to do anything to the blonde lady who tried to attack you in the resort, but you did, hence the attack?"

"How the _hell _did you work this out?!" Shego asked him, desperation in her voice. "I've been feeling like crap all day because of this… this _feeling_ between us!"

"Simple." Jack smiled and knocked back some more nuts. "I've been married for fifty years plus and you're just getting started. And due to that experience I'll tell you this for free. For Kim to actually do this to you? She loves you, deeply, unquestionably… and she's very angry at you for _making_ her this upset."

"Well hell," Shego huffed, glancing down and blinking at the second shot glass sitting next to her empty. Picking it up, the thief snapped the shot of hard alcohol back and hissed through her teeth as the heat ripped down her throat. It did nothing to ease the ball of guilt, anger, and resentment that swirled in her gut. "She's pissing me off too! What the fuck do I do next?"

"Well, Shego," Jack raised an eyebrow. "It kinda depends on how you feel about it…and how justified Kim is, in how she feels about what you did, and how much you love her back of course." Waggling his beer glass, the old man smiled. "We've still got time to chat, if you _want_ the opinion of an old duffer like me that is?"

* * *

The huge jet liner soared across the ocean at high speed, its turbines roaring with harnessed power as it streaked across the body of water between it and the country of France. The sunlight danced across the metal, making it gleam brightly, but this was lost on the travellers inside it as they gazed out of the small Perspex windows and watched the clouds whisk by.

Those in economy focused on trying to get comfortable on a seat made from every piece of sharp metal known to man, and draped in cloth so thin it was an insult to call it a cover. Yet more examined the unique offers of meal, being chicken, beef, or vegetarian, without knowing exactly _what _type of meal involved each choice. Regardless, many realised it would be small, tough, and come with a bread roll the consistency of rubber.

Those with children had the added benefit of watching their offspring trying to open a dwarf sized can of soft drink, and worse-when opened- just how much liquid the tiny can carried via an explosive spray. This would be followed by the incessant whining, the complaining that their video game handheld had just run out of batteries, the sudden need for the toilet… again, and the time honoured "Are we there yet?" cries.

Those in business class treated themselves to both the smug knowledge that they could afford the more comfortable seats, a meal that was actually identifiable, and space to work on their next huge deal to make even more money for their company, along with a nice fat bonus for themselves.

Those in first class had very little to worry about at all. The most comfortable seats, the best choices on the entertainment systems, complementary… well, everything, and some of the friendliest air hostesses available. And that was to say nothing about the upstairs in-flight bar. So, those in first class were comfortable, relaxed, and happy.

Except for one person.

She sat in her chair, legs crossed, and her left boot tapping violently against her right. Bright green eyes scowled at the stylish integrated liquid crystal system in front of her without actually seeing it, and they carried a blend of frustration, anger and guilt in equal quantities. While on the table in front of her, pale green hands toyed with a thick cut whiskey glass and steadily rapped it on the surface in time with the thoughts running through her head, always ending in one sentence.

_Damn you, Kimmie!_

The person who was causing the woman she loved to have such thoughts, sat comfortably in the seat next to her green lover, absorbed in a magazine about adrenaline sports, with a glass of lemonade propped next to her. All was quiet for a few more moments until finally the redhead glanced across, distracted by the way her lover was muttering quietly to herself.

"Shego, you okay?"

Shego huffed at the question, barely glancing at Kim, and brought the glass containing neat whiskey to her lips, downing the contents in one swift gulp. She bared her teeth as the heat streaked down her throat and nodded, staring straight ahead. "Yeah, I'm just dandy…"

"You don't look 'just dandy'…" Kim muttered, and then frowned. "What's 'dandy' actually mean anyway?"

Shego grunted and then let out a hiss. "Means I'm fine, Kimmie. Just drop it and go back to reading your damn magazine. Okay?"

Kim blinked at the heat in the green woman's voice and, unable to help herself, sniffed. "Fine then, you be like that." She went back to the magazine and turned a page. "Just trying to understand why you've been acting so odd since we got on the plane. You're not like your normal self, Sheeg."

"You'd know all about acting normal, wouldn't you?"

The words came sharply from Shego's mouth before she could bite them back. The dark part of her grinned evilly as Kim jerked slightly in her chair and then glanced over. The rest however saw the brief flash of upset in those light green eyes, and the guilt in her belly tightened in response.

_Not how Jack told you to handle this… not at all how he suggested you deal with this!_

Kim took a subtle deep breath as her heart thundered tightly in her chest.

The entire day for her had been a mixture of annoyance, resignation, disappointment, and then growing anger. All of it focused on the woman sitting next to her, her gorgeous dark hair – damn it's silky inviting gloss- swirling and concealing those shining emerald eyes as they stared at Kim, emotions swirling inside them.

The evidence her Kimmunicator had gathered within the first ten seconds of scanning had confirmed it for her. High energy residue, of a signature both she and Wade had seen plenty of times before. An actual visual examination of the sight had confirmed it. The slightly melted tarmac wasn't actually too visible unless you knew what you were looking for, as had been the faint outlines of footprints in the sand outside their bathroom window. Of course, if you had been looking for them, they were obvious to find. Obvious, because a certain someone had been too busy trying to get back in time to cover all her tracks.

So, Kim had walked back to the beach hut they were sharing, and simply felt… odd. Had felt odd as Shego had paced up and down the beach, had felt very odd sitting down to breakfast with her. Just… oddly calm and detached. And then as Shego had danced around the subject, had acted nonchalant all day, well…

God, she could_ still _feel the disappointment, deep down, smothered under the thin sheen of anger. Kim knew she was more upset than anything. And that made her anger flare even hotter for some reason.

So to have Shego snap and snarl at her was not received well.

Kim felt her lip curl and she quietly slid the magazine back into the rack on the side of her chair, before tilting her head as her eyes met Shego's gaze with her own of challenge.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, please. You've been punishing me all damn day." Shego hissed and knocked back the remains of her glass. "And I gotta hand it to you, Kimmie. You really know how to push my buttons and make me feel goddamn guilty. Haven't felt like this in years, so congrats."

"I don't know what you-"

"Don't!" This time the single word came out in a snap as gloved hands tightened. "Just… just don't. Okay?"

"Jeez, what crawled up your butt and died?"

Sniffing, Kim went to pull the magazine free of the rack once more, annoyed at the green woman. The only problem with her plan was the pair of green hands slamming onto the armrests either side of her chair, pinning her. And as she looked up, a scowling face hovered inches from her own, green eyes heatedly glaring at her.

"You." Shego growled softly, the very silky tone of her voice an indication to Kim that her lover was struggling to control her impressive ability with anger. "You're the one who's pissed me off, Kimmie, because you've made me feel so damn guilty! And you wanna know why?"

"I-"

"You've made me feel like crap all day, Kimmie. All damn day, thanks to the guilt and the fact that, god help me, I love you!"

"What is _wrong _with you?" Kim managed. "I haven't said or done anything that-"

"Bull!" The thief leaned closer and Kim forced herself to not tilt her head back in response. "All the little comments, the looks, the acting… acting _normal _when you were suspicious and pissed off with me! And you _were _suspicious of me… no, better, you knew didn't you?"

"Knew wha-"

"That I did it!" Shego told her at the top of her lungs, making everyone in the first class cabin turn their heads in the couple's general direction. Those closer to the two women watched in either fascination or horror as the event folded out in front of them.

"Okay, Princess? Is that what you wanted to hear me say? You wanted me to tell you the truth? Admit that I stuck up for you, that no blond bitch insults you like that while I'm around?! You want me to admit that I broke her damn camera? Fine, I did! You want to know what happened to her Porsche, yeah it was me! And I'd do it again, Kimmie." Shego huffed angrily. "I'd do just about any damn thing for you, even feeling guilty about some bitch getting simple justice!"

"Justice? You don't know what that word means, Shego! You destroyed her car out of spite, nothing more!" Kim countered, her own voice rising. The redhead leaned forwards until her nose practically touched Shego's. "I don't need protecting from people like that! I've had people who hate me before, I'll have them now, regardless of my sexuality, and I'll have them in the future. I've coped perfectly well, Shego, so don't try and use protecting me as a damn excuse!"

"Excuse!? What the hell are you talking about?" Shego snapped loudly, standing up and glaring down at the teen with temper. "I did it for you, because that bitch insulted you!"

"You were looking for a little fun, weren't you?" Kim yelled, shooting up to match Shego's aggressive stance. "Can't help yourself and besides, you have to keep your hand in don't you? A little thrill, a little thieving… being sneaky. I bet you loved every second!"

"Damn right I did, and I still do, Kimmie! Its how we _met_ for fucks sake! It's why you were so interested the first time you clamped eyes on me. It's why we're hooked up now! You saw the danger in me, the thrill… the sex appeal."

"Oh stop right there!" Kim spluttered. "You being a thief has absolutely _nothing _to do with us dating! I love you because I… I just do, okay?"

"Oh yeah?" Shego slid her hands onto her jean covered hips and smirked slyly. "You wanted me because I'm the bad girl and now that you've got me, you hate the fact that what I am is what really turns you on. So you've been punishing me all day, being miserable and taking it out on me for being what I am!"

"No!" Kim growled, ignoring the fact that every single head in the plane had swivelled in their direction. "I'm angry because you promised you wouldn't!" At Shego's snort of derision, Kim clenched her fists and to Shego's surprise, looked genuinely upset. "You _promised_ you wouldn't do anything to that horrible woman, but you did!"

"Kimmie-"

"I'm upset because it almost ruined our holiday; I'm upset because I had to _handle _it as they asked me to! I'm upset because you put me in the position of lying because I _love _you! Kim whispered. "I'm upset because you lied to me and… you promised!"

Shego stared and realised, with a sinking feeling in her stomach, that maybe she'd just made things worse. "Kim, I didn't mean to-"

"Shego, just… just don't. Okay?" The redhead continued to stand, hands clenched and her lip quivering with a blend of anger and upset. "You're right that I've been keeping quiet all day, trying to act normal… because I don't know how I feel about this. I really don't. I love you, god help me I love you so much! But the way you lied and… and this lack of self control you have, it-"

"Ladies?" The gently posed question intruded on Kim and Shego's argument with a polite, yet insistent, tone and had both women glancing over from where they stood, face to face in the cabin. Around them, every single passenger watched with utter fascination, and Kim felt a blush creep every so slowly onto her face. The woman who stood next to them, dressed in the immaculate uniform of an air stewardess, politely raised an eyebrow. "The captain has requested that you both calm down and continue this… personal matter once we land."

Shego, as embarrassed as Kim but with more skill at hiding it, nodded curtly at the stewardess and then glanced around at the first class passengers surrounding them. "Fine, I can do that, I'm sure Kimmie here can. Still, we wouldn't have to do that if people could mind their own goddamn business!"

"Perhaps, but it is quite hard to have an argument on a plane without others hearing it." The stewardess tilted her head. "Please, try to relax, Miss. I'll have to discuss your conduct with the flight crew otherwise."

"Shego, please…don't…" Kim whispered, and the green woman watched as worry about her 'lack of control' shimmered into the redhead's eyes.

Rolling her own, the thief nodded sharply. "Whatever! You've got a bar on-board, right?"

The stewardess discreetly examined the pale green woman in front of her and then nodded. "Yes, there is the air-bar upstairs, Miss."

"Fine. Alcohol sounds like a damn good idea right now." Shego turned to Kim and felt her anger drain like water down a plughole as she stared at the now naked misery on Kim's face. Sitting for a second, the thief hesitantly reached out and took Kim's hand. Holding it gently, she spoke in a quiet tone.

"I'm not sorry for what I did, Kimmie. You've got to understand that, kay? She was a bitch; she deserved everything I dished out to her. But I am sorry for lying to you, for not even thinking about what that could… or would, or has done to us as… you know… the couple thing."

"Shego…" Kim whispered, looking up at her lover. "Let's sit here and work this-"

"No, not yet." Shego told her firmly. "I may be sorry for lying, but I'm still pissed at you for acting all 'normal' and punishing me with the whole 'everything's fine' treatment. Kay? So, I'm going to go have a couple of drinks and give us both a bit of space to work stuff out and calm down."

Standing, the thief strode past the stewardess and then paused, turning back and glancing at the confused redhead. "I love you, Kimmie, but I can't help being a bad girl… it's what I am, who I am, and I think it's one of the things you secretly love about me. I can't change that, and you've gotta ask yourself if you'd really want me to?"

With that, the thief strode away, glaring at the occasional head that dared to glance her way. Behind her, sitting in her comfortable seat, Kim sat staring into nothing as emotions and thoughts swam in her head.

For one of the few times in her life, Kim Possible had no idea what she ought to do.

* * *

GJ sub-station. Foreign liaison and languages centre. 8 PM

"Goodnight."

The guard on station at the main reception desk of Global Justice's Foreign Liaison and Languages Centre - FLLC for short - glanced up from his computer screen to see the newest member of the Asia branch standing next to his desk, her brand new and still sparkling ID badge held out to him to take.

"Thank you… Ms Yori wasn't it?" He asked her, gently accepting the badge and typing in the code that unlocked the doors to the 'plain' office block that served as the hidden centre's access point.

"Yes," The Asian woman beamed with genuine pleasure and slipped into her light evening coat as the doors clicked open to let the soft scents of a warm breeze into the air conditioned hallway. "This was my second day here, I think you were not present when I came yesterday?"

"No, it was my day off." The guard grinned. "How're you finding everything?"

"I was, and still am, nervous." Yori admitted, her almond eyes gleaming with excitement. "But all of this is quite… stimulating. My old school mentor advised me before I took this position that almost all of life is a tapestry formed from our experiences. One of the ways of knowing your life has been full and rewarding is when you look back on that tapestry and know that it was… fun."

"Pretty deep," the guard chucked. "Makes sense though, gotta admit that. Or maybe you could make a fortune cookie out of it."

Yori flushed a pale pink. "You are making fun of me?"

"What? No, no." The guard raised his hands in a defensive posture as the beautiful ninja tilted her head, cheeks still a pale pink. "I… sorry. Bad taste, I admit, and I should know better. Sorry."

"Consider it forgiven." Yori told him and tugging the coat tighter around herself, she moved to the entrance and took a deep breath. "Oh, I love these warm nights…"

"Yeah, I kinda like them myself actually." The guard glanced at the cameras and nodded at the lack of anyone around the building. "Listen, I get off in twenty minutes and it's kinda late. I wondered if you needed anyone to walk you home or…"

"Oh, I thank you for the offer but I shall be fine." Yori assured him. "It is a cloudless night, and the moon is quite bright. Yes, I shall be perfectly safe tonight."

_Or any night. _Her mind silently added, though the Yamanouchi ninja was flattered that this man was also interested in her. Still, she had Ron, and she was delighted that she had managed to win his heart.

"Well, if you're sure." The guard murmured, disappointed.

"I am. Goodnight then." The ninja waved and stepped out of the doorway and into the fragrant evening air of the night.

The car park around the office was empty, but the neon street lights cheerfully illuminated the main pathway that wound around the office and then headed along the driveway from the building before finally joining with the main road. Savouring the warmth of the American night, Yori cheerfully walked along the neat brick. The only sign that this single woman, all alone, was actually trained in a martial art that made her a deadly weapon, was the way her hard soled work shoes moved silently along the path.

For Yori, the last six months had been a wonderful blend of excitement, hard work, and the most incredible time she'd ever experienced with a man. The excitement and hard work had been thanks to Global Justice, whose offer of a position in their group had fulfilled one of Yori's most far fetched dreams in that she would not only be working for a premier anti-villain organization, but also be able to spend time with Ron.

Of course the initial work with Global had been proving to everyone who _hadn't _been part of the Blood Jade attack force that she had the skills and training required to be even considered for a Global Justice position in the first place.

And when she had arrived at the vast training centre, taken in the large exercise track, work room, weapons room, and a highly advanced 'danger' room which could simulate any mission GJ required, Yori couldn't help but be impressed.

And then, when she'd met her trainer for the GJ training regime, an ex military marine with a penchant for breaking any GJ freshman within two days, she'd also thought of only one thing.

How easy and relaxing it was compared to working out with her fellow Yamanouchi students.

_Six months of preparation, of working with Global Justice in their training centre, to be ready for this job. Still, I wonder who ended up teaching whom once we were done. _Yori smiled. _I wonder if I really should have regarded the time spent there as a holiday? I hope that the man who trained me recovers soon enough… I did not expect him to cry after four days of assisting me with my normal regime._

Her feet, along with her thoughts, had taken her onto the main road, and the ninja wandered quietly along the tarmac, heading for a small back alley, poorly lit and packed with garbage cans and graffiti that she knew would allow her to reach Ron's apartment in half the time. Any sensible person would have avoided such a place, knowing full well that they were asking for some of the scum who still haunted such, thankfully rare, shadowy places, to mug them.

For Yori, after her fourth or fifth day of wandering the streets at night to get a better picture of the area around where she walked, the local scum gave her a wide berth and vanished into the night as soon as they saw her beautiful face slip out of the shadows. Still, two broken clavicles, one broken leg, four fractured wrists, twelve broken noses, and a nasty Kunai slash would do that to people. Especially when said woman seemed to move like lightening and have the worrying ability to just… blend with the shadows.

So, Yori barely paid any heed to her surroundings as she wandered into the mouth of the ally, trusting her own Tai Sheng Pek kwar skills and aura to protect her from any… unfortunate misunderstandings.

_I never thought this would be possible. Myself and Ronald… together as partners. It is wonderful! _She smiled into the night, surprised her feet didn't leave the ground.

Ron was everything she had hoped for. He was kind, funny, caring, and now that they were taking their friendship to the next, wonderful, stage of romance, he was loving and attentive. And the things he could do with food…the man was a true genius in the kitchen, she was putting on weight, she knew.

The training sessions she'd promised Sensei that she would do with Ron had also gotten better and better with each passing month. Yori had been well aware of Ron's use of the mystical monkey power to combat the invaders from the stars. Even if she had been in Japan herself, along with many other Yamanouchi students, combating the giant machines that had attacked them, she had _felt _the sudden surge of power that had smashed into her from the direction of America. And she had known, just known somehow, that Ron had been the one to cause it.

And if that had been the cause of Ron embracing his abilities with less fear, Yori was welcome. The training had worried her, but the fears that she would not be able to assist Ron in focusing and fine tuning his skills with Tai Sheng Pek Kwar had been unfounded. Now she looked forward to every session.

And then of course there were the nights when Ron and herself were more interested in… well, each other. And tonight was one such evening. She wondered what surprise Ron, and it had always been Ron to surprise her so far, had planned. A few days back it had been a candlelit supper for two, with sublime food and later a wonderful romantic few hours tucked into his lap, watching the stars twinkle in the night sky as he'd kissed her hair and murmured such flattering words to her ears.

Maybe she could surprise him tonight? She knew she had the black silk Kimono, the one that Jasmine had bought her from Tokyo that was almost shamefully cut in a modern short fashion. It showed an awful lot of her legs, but she hoped that Ron would find it attractive on her if she-

The attack came from nowhere. One minute, the young ninja was walking alone in the small alley, the next she felt a powerful impact slam into her shoulder, sending her careening into the unyielding brick wall. Her body reacted automatically, years of training and self discipline kicking into high gear within seconds. Body senses honed to perfection noted the small indiscriminate shape hurtling towards her, arms outstretched, and her own arms rose into a palm strike that slammed into the figure, bowling it back along the dirty tarmac of the alley.

Another tiny figure lunged at her, her senses calmly noting the small club gripped tightly, and her left foot lashed out in a roundhouse kick that caught the figure on its chin, slamming it backwards to impact against the brickwork with a solid thud.

Sensing the immediate danger being over, Yori felt her senses return to her conscious control, and her eyes narrowed as she focused on the two attackers as they lay slumped where her counter attacks had left them.

_Monkey ninjas! Here? Now? But that must mean that-_

She had no time to finish the thought, her body sense snapping back to defence as four of the monkey ninjas shot down the wall behind her and lunged for her, claws outstretched in well trained Tai Sheng Pek Kwar moves.

She managed to dodge the palm strike aimed for her chin, brushed aside the clawed foot that struck at her chest, but couldn't dodge the small sap that was swung in her direction. It impacted against her side, bruising muscle and causing a deep ache in her kidneys.

Her counter attack, a palm strike followed by a powerful uppercut, sent the monkey hurtling into the sky, the just used sap flopping onto the tarmac, forgotten. A snap kick dealt with another of the four, bowling it into the remaining two monkeys, who screeched briefly in terror before their ally slammed into them, sending them reeling.

Yori had no time to congratulate herself, for as she turned desperately, aiming for the alley mouth, more monkey ninja's shot down from the roof of the buildings surrounding her. These, to her growing worry, were armed with bladed weapons, and she began to feel the slight vestiges of panic as six of the screeching primates, all armed with small kunai, ran directly at her.

She fought as violently and quickly as she dared, dodging each slashing weapon, each lunging claw, each clawed foot, and returned the violence with her own palm strikes, snap kicks and even a head butt against one who jumped to claw at her face.

Three ended up being thrown into a dumpster, landing softly in the rotting garbage inside before the steel lid of the container smashed down onto their foreheads with a resounding clang.

But she wasn't holding her own, and more than once the claws impacted against her skin, the kunai ripped at her clothes and drew blood from the skin and flesh underneath, and the small leather saps impacted more than once against her body with painful blows.

Finally, as she stood in the fetid alley, breath coming in short, violent, pants of exhaustion, her clothing and coat ripped badly in various places and coated with smears of her own blood, mingled with the blood of a few unfortunate monkey ninja's, Yori faced the hoard of twenty or so remaining primate ninja's in a defensive pose.

"Good evening, Yori."

The mature, deep, and above all plummy English tones caused her head to snap up and to the right, to see the one person she had prayed would not become involved with this ambush.

"Lord Monkey Fist," Yori managed, trying to mask the tired tone of her voice. "To what do I owe the undesirable pleasure of your honourless self?"

"Yori, my dear, you wound me." Fist replied, smiling as he effortlessly dropped to the floor of the alley and remained in a crouching position on all four limbs, his mutated hands and feet poised to strike. "I have honour, just not with Yamanouchi."

"You have no honour!" The ninja replied, snapping the words out, before quickly glancing to the left and despatching a monkey ninja, sneaking up on her with a small kunai, with a powerful and incapacitating karate chop to the neck. "Now, what business do you wish to discuss with me? Be quick!"

"Oh, no time for us to reminisce and look back on all the good times we have shared?" Fist chuckled quietly and slid to his feet, muscles rippling powerfully under his simple, but elegantly fitted, gi. "Such a shame."

The sudden lunge of the lanky Englishman was almost too fast for the ninja to follow, but Yori managed to duck the clawed hand that aimed for her head, before twisting violently to the left to dodge a kick aimed for her belly. Her own palm strike was brushed effortlessly aside, and the young woman had just enough time to wish she had her fans before she was forced to dodge a set of quick punches and kicks from the villain.

But as quickly as the attack came, it stopped. Indeed, Monkey Fist seemed almost amused by her defence and counter attack.

Too amused.

Breathing deeply, the ninja slid back into her defensive stance, her legs limber and ready to dodge or counter strike, and she scowled at Fist with outrage. "Enough of this, Fist! What do you want from me?"

"Well, to be totally honest with you, my dear, I actually decided to track you down so I could… return an item to Yamanouchi." The villain smirked, causing Yori to frown. "You see, I recently had the great fortune to be… given a very ancient piece of Tai Sheng Pek Kwar history."

"You lie!"

"Oh no, not this time." The amused tone Fist had adopted suddenly vanished, and Yori raised her fists as the English Lord stepped slightly closer, pulling a soft roll of velvet from his belt as he did so. "What I have here is quite, quite old… and very powerful. So powerful that I am sure any student of Yamanouchi will recognise it."

As the velvet peeled back, revealing the gleam of bronze, gold, and silver, along with the various shimmering hues of various precious stones, Yori let out a terrified gasp of horror. "No…"

"I'm quite delighted to tell you that, yes, these _are _the bracelets of Marajamon, my dear Yori." Fist began to laugh with the same demented high pitched tone, and Yori felt true fear grip her heart, but not for herself.

The monkey ninjas began to move as a single pack, new blades being drawn from clothing. These shimmered in the moonlight, the blades wet with poison of some sort. But Yori barely paid them any attention, her own gaze fixed on Monkey Fist as the Pek Kwar Master tucked the velvet roll back into his belt and drew his own blade, dripping with the same shimmering poison as his small army.

"I will not be his downfall!" Yori managed, backing away until her back impacted against the wall.

"I'm glad to see you recall the tales of these powerful little objects. And I'm also very pleased to see that you realise what your love for Ronald Stoppable, the pretender to the Monkey throne, has done. But of course, that means I shall need your… assistance. I'm sure you won't mind!"

With that, Fist and an entire pack of twenty monkey ninjas simultaneously lunged at Yori, blades gleaming in the light.

To be continued.

Wriers comment:

Well, sorry for the delay, but do you have any idea how hard it is to write Shego becoming Kim's lover and partner WITHOUT her going too OOC? It's tough, but I hope I've nailed it.

Still, as we can see, Shego and Kim are having troubles in their love for each other... still, nobody said it was a smooth road, did they? Love is give and take... and Kim may have to question if she really is trying to turn Shego into something she wouldn't want. But then maybe Shego is still being too...unthinking at times.

By the way, I've decided to pass on what Rezu means... according to a few people who've been trying to help with the Chinese and Japanese languages, Rezu is Japanese for Lesbian. If the tone is right, it can be taken as an insult... hence why Song called Kim and Shego Rezu. Kay?

I'll try to promise that TPC chap 3 will not be a) as long (my beta could find no break point for this chap to make it two... nor could I.) and B) not so long to be put up.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this one... please do post a review. I do read them.

Hob


	3. Chapter 3: Love, Life and Games

Mind Body and Soul: The Parisian Connection

Chapter Three: Love, life, and games

Light.

Pale… light.

Pale sickly light shining in her eyes.

Yori twisted her head to the left and the ache from her eyes lessened slightly. She weakly raised a hand and brushed it against her forehead. Her fingers touched damp moist skin, and the ninja moaned softly at the sick feeling coming from her stomach.

"R… Ron?" Shaky with queasiness, her voice was strained and forced, sounding foreign to her own ears. "Ron, are you here? What… what happened?"

There was no reply. With a deep breath, she pushed up with unsteady hands onto all fours and then paused. Underneath her hands lay cool and rough slabs of damp stone. She stared, having expected to have been at least in the vicinity of Ron's flat.

Anxious, she choked in a deep breath and forced herself to stand. Shuddering, she blinked her gritty eyes clear and took in her surroundings. Around her, walls of thick stone stretched into an overhead roof from which stalactites dripped downward, crafted by time and moisture. In some areas, the long mineral fingers were reddened with the bloody colour of iron-oxide that came from the ancient, thoroughly rusted cuffs that lay hammered into the stone at regular intervals.

Yori turned and noticed a small door set into the imposing cavern she was in. Slowly making her way across to it, the ninja was forced to pause halfway as her stomach rebelled – violently, causing her to fall to her knees and vomit with shuddering heaves.

_Wh… what has happened to me?" _

A sudden clanking noise echoed around the chamber and Yori forced her head up as the door slowly squealed open and her eyes were assaulted with harsh bright light for a second time. She had just managed to realise that the doorway was covered in thick rusty metal plates, and had small bars set across the tiny window, before a figure blotted out the light as it strode in.

"Ah, Yori my dear. I see you're finally awake and recovering nicely from the poison that my loyal minions and myself were forced to use to… ah, incapacitate you."

"Fist?" She managed, blinking desperately, her expression one of horror. "But… but it _can't _be. You were stone! I saw it myself - you were solid granite!"

Amused, Lord Fist - clad in the same elegant combat shinobi as before, but this time wearing a gleaming silver circlet around his forehead - knelt down in front of the shivering ninja. Around them, Fists loyal monkey ninjas took up positions around the room. Despite the poison that still flowed in Yori's veins, the insane monkey master was no fool when it came to dealing with Yamanouchi ninjas such as herself.

Reaching down, he grabbed a handful of dark hair between his fingers and yanked, forcing Yori's head up further until they were eye to eye. As she fought to keep her face impassive and her mind clear, he smiled toothily.

"Yes, I know." The Monkey Master told her, a curious expression on his face. "I also know that Possible was turned to stone as well. And yet though I was left _as_ stone, that foolish blond boy managed to save her. A curious little series of events, no? That I was presumed dead but Possible lived?"

Yori shook her head. "We were lucky to save even Kim San's life at that point. To also try and aid you would have been impossible. Without the aid of others we would all have died or been altered to stone. There was no choice… and at the end, it was too late to help you. But you seemed to have weathered such misfortune well. How?"

"Perhaps I have." Fist told her, a sneer in his voice. "Regardless, despite what happened to me, it seems you've been having a very interesting life."

"What do you mea-"

"All those months I was stone, Yori. It seems the world has changed quite a bit in such a relatively short time. That idiot Stoppable, and Kim Possible, going to university and then there is yourself moving to the United States to be with that pretender to the throne of Tai Sheng. So much going on, so much I have missed."

"We have not missed your dishonourable self, Lord Fist! How did you come back from your fate?" Yori snapped, wishing her stomach would stop aching so she could focus on the threat Fist provided. "No power I know of could have saved you from that point…"

To her surprise, Monkey Fist shivered and his face contorted into one of horrified loathing. To her further surprise, the tall man squatted on his haunches and his body language radiated fear.

"You are a ninja, Yori. A believer and user of mystical monkey power, trained by Yamanouchi for – hah - good, just like all the other young men and women being trained there. I on the other hand, had someone else on my side. Someone who," Fist shivered again, "_loves_ me, with all of her heart. And, revoltingly, it seems to be what was needed to save my life."

Yori blinked. "You have a… an… interest?"

"Not exactly how I would describe her, no. What I have is a very annoying woman who plagues my every step and thinks that I… 'Love' her." Fist sneered the word, all the time prowling around the kneeling ninja. He then sighed reluctantly. "However, you asked why I am no longer stone? I'll tell you. The woman who is, let us say, 'interested' in me has skills based in the art of science." He paused in his pacing to shoot a pointed look toward the young woman. "You've met her before."

Yori's memory finally kicked in and she smirked slightly. "Ah, the gorilla lady… she had quite the obsession with you. She liked your feet if I recall correctly."

"Her name is D., my dear." Fist narrowed his eyes at Yori's amused expression. "I'm sure you find it hilarious, but I do not. Regardless, she is the one who saved my life and brought me back."

"How?" Yori thought back to her own days at Yamanouchi and her time with GJ and it's additional training. "She is involved with DNA manipulation. How would that have helped bring you back from being stone?"

"Her talents are not just in that specific area of science, though it is her speciality true enough. While I do not pretend to understand her methods, they are effective. Let us just say that I woke up inside one of her devices… and the experience of having ones stone converted back to flesh was extremely unpleasant. It was, however, _nothing_ compared to what happened once she got me out of that machine."

Yori watched as Fist shivered and felt her own skin crawl.

"She must be quite unwell to wish to be with you."

"Well, driven by different impulses, certainly. However, I have to agree with you that she is insane. Considering how many times I have informed the woman that I have no interest in her whatsoever. Still, I do owe her my life as it is now and I do so hate to leave debts unpaid. Maybe one day, once I have finally become ruler of the Monkey throne, I shall have to consider returning the favour… Perhaps a fruit basket?" He smiled sardonically. "It would be the least I could do."

"She has done nothing but cause the world a great disservice by bringing you back from stone." Yori curled her lip as Fist stared at her. "You seek nothing but power to bring about world domination and cruelty with the skills that Tai Sheng Pek Kwar gives you. At least while you were stone we were all safe from your insanity!"

"Insanity?"

The blow slammed into her face before Yori could brace herself. The impact rocked her backwards, and the young ninja fell in a sprawl, her head smacking into the damp stone floor as she did so. Blood spilled freely from her lip, split and torn from the blow. Her eyes; however, were clear, and they narrowed in anger.

For his part, the self proclaimed monkey king stood calmly in front of her, hands nonchalantly clasped behind his back. As she stared at him with loathing, Fist raised an eyebrow.

"I am no more insane than the next person, though come to think of it, that would be Karos 'Ruler of yoghurt' over in the next village. Regardless, I am not insane. I am driven by the need for power to rule this ball of rock and dirt and I shall have it soon." Shivering at the thought of power, Fist noticed her tensed muscles and smiled sarcastically. "Come, come, my dear. Do you _really_ think you can beat me with your second rate Tai Sheng skills? Have you not suffered enough by my hand this day?"

Focusing herself, Yori shot to her feet, the anger she felt blinding her to the fact that Fist was grinning with anticipation. The young ninja ran at the older man, her fists clenched, and she hurled a series of fast jabs at his waist. Fist raised an eyebrow in wry amusement, knowing full well that the young woman was usually far faster than this, and his own arms slapped against hers deflecting Yori's attacks harmlessly to one side. Yori had little time to adjust her attack as his own arm flashed upwards and a single slap to the young woman's forehead had her gasping in shocked insult.

"Slow… far too slow. Is this what that old fool teaching you and your pupils nowadays? I'm amazed Yamanouchi is still on its feet, let alone a _thriving_ school."

Incensed, she slid to her feet and her left leg shot out into a vicious arc, her foot tensed for a hammer-like impact to the side of Fist's head. But the lanky master dodged the attack and caught her leg, forcing it into an upswing that unbalanced the young ninja and sent her crashing to the floor a second time.

"Of course, it may not be his teachings. We both know that you're not fighting at the peak of your abilities, are you, Yori? After all, having to cope with that nasty little dose of poison in your veins must be taking a lot of energy."

Yori, her breath heaving as she lay sprawled on the cold cobbles, throbbing muscles complaining at the impact, managed to lift her head and glare at Fist, who sighed and crouched down next to her once more.

"I expected more from you than a pathetic little glare and a snarl. Perhaps you really are weaker than I originally thought, perhaps that pretender, Stoppable, really is stronger than he looks." He smiled thinly. "Maybe you're not much use unless you can girlishly prance around with those nasty little razor fans of yours."

Chuckling as Yori turned away, still occupied with fighting the terrible nausea assaulting her system, he sighed with pleasure.

"But then there's even more going on here than you could possibly know, and you, my dear, are only one tiny lynchpin in a very, very clever plan."

"Yours?" Yori managed, before heaving another breath, her head spinning violently.

"Partly, but I do have a… well, a silent partner in this little endeavour you could say. I would love to explain everything to you; sadly I'm not foolish enough to do so. Still, I'm sure once everything is finally completed, it will become clear."

Yori shook her head. "Fist, why have you kidnapped me?!"

"Oh dear, have you forgotten our little conversation already, Yori?" Her captor smirked. "The poison seems to be working better than advertised. Well, as I said-"

"You intend to destroy Ron. That I understand, as cruel and foolish as it may be. I also know that all of is this some way for you to fulfil the wish to gain the power entirely for yourself! However, I do _not _understand why I am so vital to your plans."

"Oh, Yori, I am shocked that you would say that… that you would consider yourself so below my notice." Fist paused and his smile became predatory. "Considering that many of the rumours I've been hearing are to do with a certain ninja and Ron Stoppable being seen together."

Yori's face paled, but she fought to keep her composure. "He is my friend."

"Mmn. I doubt 'friends' end up being so… intimate. According to a few of my colleagues I've recently reacquainted myself with since being freed from my stony imprisonment, it would seem that in the past few weeks they have been arrested and their world domination plans thwarted as usual. Not, however, by Kim Possible, but by Stoppable and yourself. And quite a few have commented on how, as they were placed into the police van, they happened to notice this certain ninja kissing Stoppable in a _very _intimate way."

"It is not what you think-"

Fist, enjoying himself, smirked and interrupted. "And then of course there are the recent rumours going around the villain community that the Blood Jade attacked Global Justice, and almost won as well." He grinned. "That rumour, at least, I know is true… In fact, we both know that it is true, do we not?"

"That has not been made public knowledge yet so how do you-"

The sigh echoed around the stony room. "Villain, my dear. That is what I am and people such as myself? Well, we know so much more than those little sheep you call the innocent masses and Shepard around."

Steeling her resolve, Yori slowly forced herself back onto her feet and straightened. "That does not explain how you know the Jade were involved, Fist. Unless…"

Chuckling and grinning as her eyes widened, he nodded. "Why, I do believe you may have just started to understand a little. You're quite correct, Yori in that you are _our_ guest here, my dear. Yes, you heard quite correctly in that they would like me to… take care of you."

Yori shook her head. "No, it makes no sense. They have known about us, as we them, for many hundreds of years. Why now are they suddenly interested in the powers of Tai Sheng? And also, even if they were, then why would they share such power with you? What do they gain from all this, unless…"

Fist stood smoothly and cracked his knuckles, distracting the young woman from her thoughts. "Quite frankly, my dear I don't care much as to their intentions or reasons. Oh, I find their plotting most amusing. If they succeed in what they intend? Well then, so much the better. If they fail, there is no harm done to my own plans and with the power they will have allowed me to gain I will eventually accomplish their task at my leisure." The lanky ninja master shrugged. "I would consider it more than fair after their gift of these!"

Fist beckoned to a Monkey ninja and the primate ambled forwards, clutching a plain dark leather-bound box. With a click, the top slid open to reveal three spaces, lined with dark red velvet. While one of the spaces was empty, the others were full. One seemed to be some form of bracelet as far as Yori could tell. The material was a gleaming silvery colour; precious stones studded the material in strange swirling patterns and seemed to be linked together with coppery metal. The other was a circlet made of the same metal, but this had a single dark purple stone with a screaming primate's face etched into its surface set into the centre.

"Lovely, are they not?" The monkey master murmured, stroking the gleaming metal with his unsettlingly long fingers before glancing over at Yori and showing an incisor. "And incredibly evil…"

Yori scowled as Fist gloated and her eyes flicked over the odd jewellery that the madman seemed to covet so much. She could not see why these things had secured Fist's loyalty, at least for the moment, for the Jade.

And her previous question still nagged at the back of her mind. That criminal organisation hated Yamanouchi to be sure, she should know, but never to the point where they would actually ally themselves to a crazy Gaijin.

As her soft almond eyes flicked over the ancient pieces of metal, she scowled. There was something about them, though she could not pin down what, that made her uneasy. Her own training, though the majority of her skills lay in the mystical art of Ninpo, did include a proportion of Tai Sheng as a main basis, something Sensei had insisted on.

Now, those skills, along with her Ninpo senses were uneasy about the jewellery in front of her. It was Fist, however, who provided the answer when Yori pointed out one thing.

"They did not provide you a complete set… perhaps they felt you were unworthy after all."

The mutant smiled, and shook his head. "Oh, no. They _did_ give me a complete set, Yori my dear. But you see, I decided to make use of these immediately, and so I gave one as a gift."

Yori shivered at the way he whispered the word and steeled herself. "Really?"

"Mmmn… and perhaps it is down to that little gift I gave you as being the reason why you've been feeling so… unwell in the past few hours perhaps?"

Letting go of her, Fist watched as the ninja's eyes darted down to her right arm. There, clasped tightly around her wrist, the scrollwork gleaming dully in the pale light of the cell, was the partner bracelet to the one still in the box.

Yori swallowed, and a trembling hand traced the gleaming metal and inset stones. A central stone, dark blood-red, pulsed faintly with an ethereal evil. Now that she was closer, she flicked her gaze over the clear symbols of Tai Sheng language, and her eyes widened in horror at the words they spelled out.

Any student from Yamanouchi had learned those words, etched into the deep history, the foundations, of their discipline. Those who were skilled had learned to fear what they warned.

Yori knew all too well, and she stared in utter horror.

"The bracelets of Marajamon! Sensei said that… no, not even _you _are insane enough to use them!"

"But I am… did you not say I was insane, Yori?" First grinned and stroked the purple stone. "Perhaps I should just go with my more impulsive ideas in the future, this one is working perfectly."

And as she stared up at her captor with mounting anger and fear, the sound of insane inhuman laughter echoed around the stone chamber as the wild eyed man in front of her pounded his chest in a perverted mimic of an ape. Finally Fist looked down at her with a gleam of amusement in his eyes.

"As for you, well… you're going to help me, Yori. You're going to help me become supreme monkey ruler!"

"Never!" she hissed, backing away.

"Oh, you will." Fist smirked. "And maybe it's time I awoke the bracelets power, my dear. After all, they have been asleep for so _very_ long."

So saying, he slid his hand into the ornate box and pulled out the Circlet, sliding it onto his forehead until the gleaming purple rock, almost seeming to glisten with malevolent intent to the young female ninja, pressed lightly against his skin.

Fist stepped back a few feet and Yori watched as the crazed man began to mutter passionately to himself in a low guttural tone. She recognised a few words of power from a language as ancient as the ruins of Tai Sheng themselves, older in some cases.

Suddenly, the purple stone pulsed in his forehead, shimmering with some ethereal energy. Yori barely noticed however, as she bit back the sudden scream that tore at her throat. A scream that wanted to escape her mouth as every single fibre of her being and her soul, felt an intense, numbing cold bite and gnaw into her. She felt as though her very skin wished to crawl from her body and she realised the horrible truth as some part of her mind dragged her eyes down to the cause.

The bracelet around her wrist gleamed with vicious metallic glee, and the red stone in it's centre almost seemed to pulse in time with her heartbeat.

The guttural words continued to spill from Fists mouth, and the ninja staggered as the dungeon began to spin around and around in front of her eyes. Faster and faster it went,

Yori moaned, cursing her lack of foresight, as darkness began to bleed into the edges her eyes. Before she could fight or even hiss the name of the man who had done this to her, the ninja collapsed into a dead faint.

And in the cold of the dungeon, all that could be heard was insane, triumphant laughter.

* * *

Middleton

"I dunno, Rufus. Yori was supposed to come home last night."

Ron Stoppable, Team Possible member and current rave sensation at his culinary college, paced the carpet of the flat he and Yori now shared, thanks to the salary Global Justice paid the ninja, and stared worriedly at the clock ticking silently against the wall.

He'd woken on the bright Saturday morning, yawning and stretching as normal, only to immediately realise something was wrong. A feeling that only grew as he brushed the pillow next to him and found it lacking a river of long silky dark hair.

This had been the first thing that had alerted him to the fact she was missing_._

When he'd wandered into the kitchen from their bedroom, only to find a total lack of a certain girlfriend sitting at the table sipping orange juice, he became even more worried. The worry had become concern when the spare room, converted into a dojo, had also been empty.

A call to the languages centre had resulted in them telling him that Yori had left that night, later than usual due to her incessant ability to work past her usual paid hours, and had headed off into the night. So, unless she'd decided at that point to visit a bar or club- which was very unlikely- then she was missing.

And someone like Yori, who looked slender but had muscles Ron didn't even know the _name _of – except that they often felt really rather nice against his hands- and was also trained in marital arts, including his own Tai Sheng. Well, a woman _that_ capable of handling herself, dealing with every minor villain Middleton possessed while Kim was away, didn't just go 'missing' suddenly. Not unless…

Ron shook his head and glanced at the clock on the wall. Missing for the whole of yesterday evening. And now it was three PM! Yori had been gone for nearly twenty hours. She could be anywhere… hurt, frightened… needing him and-

_No it's just_ not_ possible! It's been silent here in Middleton since Kim and Shego hooked up. All the villains are keeping their heads down for the moment. Honestly, I can't say I blame them. _

"Maybe she's already gone out? Something happened at the office, so she'd decided to deal with it before we went to the mall?" His voice was hopeful as he glanced over at his mole rat friend.

Rufus, sitting propped on the coffee table Yori had taken a fancy to a few months back, looked up from the cracker he was munching from a pack Ron had left out, and squeaked in sympathy. "Could be. Mnn hmm!"

Sighing, Ron deflated and shook his head, a frown developing on his face.

"No… Yori's not the sort of person to forget to call me if she's working late, Ruf. And let's be honest, buddy, she'd wake me if something cropped up in the morning - especially as it's the weekend."

Turning, he stared out the window as Rufus continued to murmur sympathetic noises. The warm sunshine lit his face, and he couldn't help but smile at the thought of the young ninja who had become his partner.

We'd been planning for a nice day out, you know? A little shopping - I know she secretly gets a kick out of the Club Banana store, no matter how much she blushes and protests before we go in, a nice meal, and then the cinema to wrap it all up. She was so excited! Well, as much as she normally is about anything."

"Uh huh… sick?"

"Nah. She would have said something last night or yesterday morning, or called me from work." Ron wrung his hands. "No two ways about it, Ruf. Something weird is going on, and I'm really worried. So, only one thing to do."

"W'ah?"

Pulling out his Roncom, and quietly thanking Wade for the umpteenth time that the young teen genius had finally come round and made him his own communicator, he thumbed the switch and waited as the gleaming KP logo flashed into existence on its small screen. Finally, the familiar and welcomed face of Wade Load splashed onto the screen.

"Hey Ron," The young man waved at him, sucking on a diet soda. "Nothing going on at the moment that you need to know about. So, what's up?"

"Could you call Yori for me?" Ron asked, and Wade blinked at the apprehension in his voice.

"Um, sure. Any particular reason as to why? It's just, you look a little worried."

"Can you just call her? Please, Wade. I just wanna make sure she's okay."

"Okay, Ron, okay. " The young man tapped at the keys on his keyboard and waited for a few moments…moments that, as the clock painfully ticked away, became minutes. "Odd, she's not answering…"

Ron felt his heart skip a little, his chest beginning to feel tight. He pushed the feeling back. It was just nerves, that was all. "She's not?"

Wade nodded, preoccupied with his screens and the information rapidly scrolling across them. "No, though to be honest, I've got her main communication network spliced through GJ's system, and for some reason they've been having troubles too. I don't know the details yet, but their sat system seems to be in standby mode."

"Is that bad?"

"Not really. Well, unless something major triggered it. That's the only problem with Team Possible being merely an associated group. If anything goes on inside GJ, it's up to Doctor Director to let us know, well unless I hack into them. But I don't bother because contact from her is usually not a problem. But, right now? I can't seem to get though to her."

Ron nodded slowly, putting his worries for Yori to one side. "Okay, weird times ten."

"I'll keep trying to contact Doctor Director today, but until then, I've gotta work around a huge gap in our communications." The young genius chuckled. "Silly really, I've become so used to them being online twenty four seven that it's really thrown me, losing that network for a while."

"Are we out of contact with Kim then?"

"No… not at the moment. She's got her Kimmunicator turned off and I promised not to remote activate it for a call unless it was literally life and death." Wade decided not to mention to Ron the three minute 'discussion' he had with Shego, or the quiet promise that had made the young man shiver slightly. It hadn't been pleasant. "But she's online; we can tap in using the international call networks if needed."

"Oh, right."

"I just meant that the GJ network is usually the one I turn to for the majority coverage. A lot of the other networks shift or are unreliable. Last thing we need when you or Kim are on a mission is for the Kimmunicator to cut out during a time my skills as a computer tech or analyst are needed, right?"

Ron nodded as the many times Wade had come through in a pinch, especially the whole incident with the rare flower needed to save Kim from vanishing forever, came to mind. "You have a point…"

"Anyway, it's not a problem to contact Yori. I'll try a direct connection instead using one of the mobile networks."

Ron's foreboding only grew as Wade began to type with confidence at first, only to begin to flick his podgy fingers with greater determination across the keyboards.

Eventually, the young man looked up with an equally worried expression on his face and, worse in Ron's opinion; put his soda can out of view. "Um…"

"This has got to be bad news, I can feel it…"

"Well, I'm getting an error message. I think her communicator is damaged somehow, so maybe that's why I can't get her to answer."

"So, she's not contactable right now. The woman I live with and care for is missing without explanation and now I can't speak to her. Wade, that's not helping my worries here." Ron muttered, and Wade flushed.

"Well, there could be an easier explanation too. She could just be out of the mobile network area as well."

"Oh, come on!"

"No, it happens a lot with Kim, which is why my usual way of calling you guys is the satellite system. If Yori's on a mission for GJ, then she could be anywhere… it _was _the reason for the last time she went missing, right?"

Nodding, the blond teen shared a quick look with his mole rat buddy and both silently agreed on their course of action.

"Look, I'm sure that Yori's fine, but I'll feel much better once I see her and make sure myself. If everything's okay, we can put it down to a case of my Ron-ness doing overtime."

"Okay. I suggest a quick trip to see Doctor Director, but maybe we should let Kim know that Yori's out of contact. She is a part of Team Possible now and-" Wade paused, and then swallowed, again recalling the shimmering emerald gaze and thinned dark lips that had captivated him as they'd promised punishment if a call ended up interrupting 'Princess's' vacation time.

But, he had to admit that Ron's growing anxiety, coupled with coming to understand and become friendly with Yori, including her personality and general nature, was setting off his own alarm bells. "Look, with GJ's network down I'm beginning to wonder if we shouldn't take precautions and also ask Kim to come back-"

"Wade, come on!" Ron protested, ignoring the faint doubt and worry on the young man's face. "It's like you said, she's probably dropped it, or it's broken somehow while she was on a mission for GJ or something. She'll be fine and you're probably right. We'll find out she's doing recon work or something for Doctor Director and then we'll both end up feeling very silly about the whole thing."

"Well, yeah. But look, Ron, I say we just let Kim and Shego know. What's the harm?"

"They're on vacation, we're not." Ron told the tech flatly, also thinking back to the quiet friendly 'chat' that had in _no _way involved a certain green skinned woman threatening to introduce him to his kidneys, personally, if interruptions that were not 'vital in any damn way!' were involved.

"Kim put Yori and me in the hot seat while she was away. And that was only with a lot of cajoling by Shego as well. If we tell Kim what's happened, she'll worry, fly back, and then Shego will get mad. I don't know about you, but I like my kidneys right where they are, thanks."

"Well… okay. But for the moment I'm going to ask you keep your Roncom on at all times, okay?" Wade pressed a few buttons on a hidden keyboard obscured by the camera angle, and with a gentle chime, a map replaced his worried expression. On it, Ron's location was pinpointed by a flashing red dot. "That's where you are, or at least where your locator beacon is coming from."

"Sure, I'll be mucho relieved that you're watching over me. Thanks, buddy."

"Just be careful, Ron. Oh, and when you see Doctor Director, could you ask her what's going on at GJ? It's a bit annoying that some of Team Possible's satellite coverage is down."

"I will, and Yori's fine… it's all gonna turn out to be one big joke."

_But, if that's so… why do I keep trying to convince that uneasy cold ball of ice in my gut of that fact? And why are the senses Sensei helped me develop really, really, unhappy at the thought of her all alone out there right now? _

_Because it's never been a problem before…_

* * *

International Airspace. Heading towards Paris 

_Oh Jack, I've never felt so in love… I'm sorry I doubted you and-_

Click.

_This is DJ Huston and we'll be giving you the best tunes twenty four sev-_

Click.

_That's right, Angelina. Kim Possible and Shego were recently seen in a local club together and the green villain was getting a little… fresh with her new beau. The local religious authorities have decried Ms Possible's "decent into sin" as recently put by Pastor Jackson- _

Click.

_Shego seems to be enamoured with her new "captor", so maybe Kim has a new sidekick after all and-_

Click, click.

_Kim Possible and Shego were spotted in bikinis and-_

Click!

_Shego kissing Kim-_

Click!!

_They've nicknamed the new Team Possible craze "Kigo" and-_

Kim Possible threw down the remote attached to her in-flight entertainment system and huffed out a breath of annoyance as she glared at the small screen. Over twenty channels of entertainment and music and nothing - absolutely nothing - was able to take her mind off one person.

Shego.

For the umpteenth time, her light green eyes strayed to the circular stairs that lead up to the sky-bar; where the person in question had retreated to after a particularly heated argument in front of every single first class passenger in the compartment. An argument that had been completely and totally all _her_ fault, she mentally reminded herself.

Annoyed with herself, Kim forced her eyes away to stare at the figures on the screen in front of her and pretended that the longing desire chase after Shego was nothing more than a desire to confront the woman in question and get her to apologise for being an insufferable ass!

"Excuse me, Ms Possible?" Kim looked up to see one of the stewardesses hovering next to her. The woman smiled. "I wonder if you'd like a drink?"

"No. Just go away." Kim told her bluntly, and missed the flicker of shock that shot across the woman's face even as the redhead turned back to the small screen.

Focused on the small flickering figures, she was certainly _not_ thinking about how her girlfriend hadn't come back from the damn bar to apologise after four hours of being upstairs, alone, guilty and shattered! And crying… yes, _crying_ for how she had acted towards her new love!

After another ten minutes of waiting for Shego to _not_ come back and apologise, Kim growled and slid to her feet, heading for the lavatory.

_I can't believe that after all this she's still not saying sorry about what happened! It's not MY fault that she couldn't control herself at the resort. It's so like her to be so… so… inconsiderate and stubborn! After everything I've been through, WE'VE been through; would it kill her to just think about what she's doing?!_

The teen's thoughts were momentarily interrupted when she glanced at the door to the toilet sitting next to the first class gallery and found it occupied. With a sigh of annoyance, Kim leaned against the wall and waited.

"You okay?" A voice asked quietly from behind the curtain and Kim tilted her head with minor interest to listen to the conversation.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

There was a sigh and Kim smiled wryly at the exhaustion in the female voice. Obviously, one of the pristine female models the airlines employed was feeling the strain. "But, did you hear those two going on?"

"What? Who, oh… Kim Possible and that green woman she's with?"

Kim stiffened as the other voice chuckled. "You mean Shego, her girrrlfriend… it was in all the papers, and they just _loved_ the whole thief and the hero angle. But, yes, those two. I think the romance isn't running smoothly, in fact I thought we were going to have a punch up in first class, jeez."

"Really? All I know is that you could hear their little "chat" at the back of the plane!" The voice sighed and then chuckled in reply. "Still, it was an interesting little talk, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Can you believe what they were saying though? I mean, the sheer gall of telling somebody something like that. Bitch…"

Kim blinked and didn't notice the smug grin that crossed her face. She felt justified in the way she'd handled Shego now that two other people had overheard their argument and agreed with her. Shego would have to suck it up and listen to her in the future.

"Which one?" The other voice asked and Kim rolled her eyes.

"Kim Possible, who else would I be talking about? Talk about relationship issues, let alone trust."

Kim blinked in shock and the grin disappeared._ What?!_

"Oh, come on…" The other voice replied, amused at the annoyance in her colleague's tone.

"Come on nothing! If my boyfriend started spouting off about how I never listen and that I need to change to keep him happy, I'd kick his ass! God knows I kicked that other bum out of my home when he started going on about me staying home, doing what I was told, and being a good little lover! What's the difference?"

"Didn't Possible say that she'd done something nasty to another woman? Besides, she's a thief, Kirsty. Maybe she's trying to change her for the better, and we don't have any idea what-"

"She's dating her." The voice now linked to Kirsty snapped back. "You don't go around changing people you love! You saw the press conference with me, Allie, and whatever she's doing is just dumb!"

"Kirsty…"

"I mean it! You don't go around confessing you're in love with a woman like her unless you're sure of it! You sure as hell don't do that if you're a famous woman, not unless you're head over heels!"

"We don't know what happened to cause that argument, Kirsty." Her friend sighed and the curtain rustled slightly next to Kim as her hand reached around and gripped the edge. "Let it go. It's none of our business how that got started. I'm just glad that Shego woman is up in the bar and that Possible is still in her seat."

"Yeah, I know." Kirsty sighed as the curtain was pulled back, and both air-hostesses stepped into the now empty corridor. "It's just that I saw Shego's face when she stomped upstairs. I felt for her. Stupid really. I know she's a thief and all, and Possible probably had good reason to snap at her, but still. She looked really upset… kinda sad too."

"We see it all in this job."

"Don't I know it…"

As both women walked off in different directions, neither noticed the lavatory door was engaged, and they certainly wouldn't have noticed the woman just sitting down back into her chair a few rows down.

Inside the lavatory, Kim sat down on the closed toilet lid, her face pale and conflicted. She glanced down and noticed that her hands were shaking, and forced them to still through sheer force of will. Her green eyes flickered to the mirror and she stared at the reflection of herself as it stared right back.

The conversation she'd overheard had disturbed her. Had she been harsh towards Shego because she wanted to change her in some way? Was she really like that?

She didn't want Shego to change, well… that much. She loved the green woman. But behaviour such as she showed at the resort was just unacceptable now they were well… intimate.

Kim shook her head. Since the time spent at the "pleasure" of Kara Fang," the redhead shivered slightly. "Shego had been surprisingly fantastic at changing her attitude towards quite a few things. In fact, before this little event, Kim was so proud that she was making what seemed to be a genuine effort to behave.

But now, now it was all going to hell and Kim cursed that bitch Stacy and how, now, thanks to the horrible blonde bimbo, it looked like Shego was back to her old tricks. Damn that wannabe beach model! Still, the thief hadn't tried very hard to rein herself in, had she!

Luring her into a meal, letting her be lulled into thinking that she had been the only thing on the green woman's mind! When in truth - Kim scowled - she'd probably been plotting and praying that a good meal would make her sleepy; all so Shego could go sneaking out and play at being a bad-ass mercenary again!

In fact, why hadn't she just gone the whole hog and _stolen_ the damn Ferrari instead?! Kim scowled. She probably would have too, if it hadn't been almost impossible to have pawned it anywhere on such a small island.

_God knows she couldn't have gone for a joyride. Couldn't have risked me waking up and finding out, could we?!_

The redhead snorted in annoyed justification, closing her eyes.

_I just want her to be a little bit more responsible, to listen to me sometimes! I don't want her going off half-cocked and ending up in trouble. Oh, and as for the stealing. Why she still wants to act the bad gal is beyond me. If she'd just try a little harder to behave, maybe we wouldn't have these problems._

_She seriously just needs to act a bit more like me, maybe then she'd think before blowing stuff out of proportion!_

A camera.

That was what had started this sorry chapter in Kim's life. Not a threat of world domination, or a ransom demand for kidnapped family members. Not a single potentially catastrophic event.

No. It had been a bimbo with a digital camera.

Okay, Kim had felt a little anxious at the thought of someone snapping a few money making photos of herself and Shego in such a compromising situation. But it hadn't been worth pursuing, right? That's what she'd told Shego, right?

That was what she'd have done… the sensible, no better, the _right_ thing to do in that situation. And that was why she was so angry, right?! For the green woman just not _thinking_ that the smart and, and… thief way would have been to just leave it alone, not draw attention and remain incognito!

Her anger had nothing to do with the gut wrenching fear coiled in her belly over the thought that the woman who had slept beside her, pressed smooth lips against her skin, and begged to… to make love to her, was pretending. Pretending to have changed, just so she could end up getting her nemesis into bed. Right?

The redhead surreptitiously pressed a hand to her stomach and shook her head violently.

_No. No! She's changed, Shego's changed. She came away, turned away from what could have been quite a good punch-up with that blonde cow!_ Kim argued with herself. Anything to stop the roiling in her belly.

"But, then she took it to the bar…" Kim found herself whispering quietly, while a headache threatened to introduce itself. "I caught her… anything could have happened if I'd not been there and… and…"

"**You're right, as always. They don't matter and you do." **

Without anger, without even disappointment in her tone, Shego had turned away from that awful, awful, woman and left. Left with her and just dropped it.

For her.

And the uneasiness Kim had felt, staring at that bar table, the tension in the air, it had turned to relief. Relief that had become that same forbidden tingle she'd always felt around the thief, especially when Shego had her trademark smirk going on.

Catching the bad girl in the act and, somehow, beating her.

But then everything after had shattered that image for Kim. Smashed it, allowed the uneasiness in her gut to slink back, and lead them to a snarled argument a few hours ago.

Was it such a bad thing to want to make her lover… well, more presentable for her image or at _least_ presentable to the world? After all, Kim admitted, she was a world class hero and having Shego acting like that around her could damage her reputation. That was important, very important to the site, to her missions and Team Possible.

Sometimes she couldn't trust Shego to behave like she wanted… like she _needed_ someone _with _her to act and-

Kim's eyes snapped wide and her mouth dropped open, some part of her brain finally putting the pieces together, coming upon a startling realization, and making her replay the last few thoughts to have run through her head. Blinking, the young adult paused and put a hand across her open mouth.

_What did I just think to myself?!_

Okay, so she was a hero, she saved the world from villains and clinically insane people on a regular basis, but she'd never really bothered with her image. Well, not really. And okay, Ron screwed up on a regular basis, but he was a sidekick and so it hadn't really mattered to anyone as long as the _team _had come though. She'd never thought _her _image had mattered more than the Team's.

Had she… _had_ she?!

"_**They can say what they like about me, and some of the papers are. But as long as my family and friends are with me and on my side… as long as you're here, then it's so not a drama."**_

Words, exchanged a day ago, echoed inside Kim's head until it hurt. Running that memory back, especially now, her own words almost took on the tone of denial…

The red haired hero shook her head violently from side to side, finding this self exploration vastly unpleasant.

_No, I don't care what everyone else thinks._ Kim fisted her hand so tightly she winced as her nails cut into her flesh. _And I don't want to change Sheeg… I don't! Not like that! I'm not that type of person!_

But god, the fear she'd felt when she'd realised Shego had finally had enough of that stuck-up blond. The chilling, bone freezing fear that she'd go too far… Kim could still taste it as Shego had turned to glare at the awful woman with that same, knowing, glint in her eye.

"_**Because my temper, and I have a short one as people will tell you, is rapidly wearing thin, you trumped up little bitch!"**_

"Always a bad girl…" Kim whispered to herself, and rubbed her forehead furiously, almost as if she could will the entire debacle to go away.

_And you didn't really mind that bimbo lost her car, at all… did you? _Kim admitted to herself. _Not until you'd realised just exactly _who _had decided to see if Porches floated… and that she'd _lied _to you to do it. No, all you felt to that point was a smug satisfaction that justice had been served and you hadn't lost your halo. Talk about hypocritical…"_

"No… no…" The redhead bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth as she ruthlessly examined her personal flaws, some part of her too far down the list to stop now and save her ego.

Unbidden, the memory of her trying to make Ron a little more presentable, crossed her mind. The event had turned him into the vainest, most image obsessed person she'd ever met… including Senior Junior and that was saying something.

But, even though she'd seen Ron, thank goodness, return to his normal, scruffy, dependable self, she examined that long passed event with new eyes and the uneasiness grew in the pit of her stomach.

Had she buffed Ron up to make him feel better about himself… or for herself? After all, once he'd started acting like a male Bonnie and practically rode his ego, even Kim could admit it had caused her to fume at the sudden switch in, well, attention.

_But I learned my lesson and-_

Keeping up with Bonnie and outsmarting her at every turn for captaincy of the cheerleading team, how much of that was to keep her image?

_I… my image…_

The high school end of year dance, how quick was she in dropping everything like a hot potato to find someone, anyone, who had ranked high enough in the school opinion poll to match her reputation?

_I chose Ron in the end! _The redhead thought with something close to desperation. _That's all that matters in the end. I chose him! Because I'm not like that! _

"I don't care about my damn reputation!"

Kim blinked, wondering where the hoarse growling voice had come from, and raised a hand slowly to her mouth as she realised it had been hers, a small blush of embarrassment at the outburst creeping on her cheeks as she wondered if anyone had heard her outside the cubicle.

"I don't have an ego!" She hissed, only to recall a piercing green gaze, deflating her annoyance at herself almost immediately.

It all came down to _her_ Shego, and that was the main point. Shego _was_ hers.

If she really didn't care what people thought, if her reputation as a hero didn't concern her as long as she did what was right herself, _why_ hadwhat happened been such an issue?

"That wasn't the problem… she did something so… so _stupid_! She could have been hurt, or caught or… or sued!" Kim barely noticed she was talking to herself. "Shego needs to stop being the bad girl and just think before she does something even worse!"

Okay, so she'd found Shego attractive for being herself, for being the quintessential 'bad girl', Kim knew. And, Kim shamefully admitted as she stared into her own green eyes, that was what she found so attractive.

Because, underneath that prickly shell was a far deeper person who was secretive, surprisingly loving, and- most of all – was fascinatingly complex.

Kim could even admit to the undeniable fact that it was because Shego _did _look at the world with experienced and cynical eyes that had interested her during their meetings. And with her experience of life as their encounters continued, Shego had only become more caustic and coolly sarcastic about everything. But despite this, the woman that was slowly opening up to Kim was captivating.

It was _who _Shego was, and Kim meekly admitted as well, w_hat _she was that spoke to the redhead's core.

So why, she asked herself with brutal honestly, did she suddenly want to change that? Who was she to judge the experiences that had made the green woman look far less favourably on the world and people living on it. Experiences that Shego had barely begun to explain to her in any form of detail at all.

_Six months, and suddenly how Shego thinks and acts isn't good enough anymore, not up to my standards as a lover? Am I _reallythat _shallow… or worse, do I trust her that little?_

The silence that answered her discomforted the redhead and Kim bit her lip as the harsh words she'd aimed at Shego a few hours ago trickled into her memory.

"_**Can't help yourself and besides, you have to keep your hand in don't you? A little thrill, a little thieving… being sneaky. I bet you loved every second, didn't you?!"**_

_Why did I say that? Everything Shego's done has been to make me comfortable, happy… loved. God, I know, more than anyone, that Shego's a physical person. So why… _why _did I say that?! Punish her in a way I knew she couldn't fight, because I know her right down into her soul?_

"Hey!" A sudden banging on the door broke her out of her musing and she jumped as the door shook slightly under each blow. An annoyed voice came through the plastic. "You've been in there for twenty minutes! What are you doing in there, eh?!"

"O…okay. I'm sorry, I... I'll be out in a minute."

Shaken and a tad embarrassed, Kim fell back onto the lavatory seat and hung her head.

She'd treated Shego like the old days. No, far worse. And, when she came right to it, for what? For some insignificant bonnie clone, who didn't deserve to breathe the same air as the woman she loved, let alone register with any significance in their lives to trigger such a heated argument.

And okay, so the whole silent treatment had been shockingly effective, and Shego had obviously been unable to take it anymore, hence the ranting confrontation in the cabin. But still, she couldn't recall the last time she'd acted so… so childishly in not speaking to Shego, in not sitting down with her and working it out… like that time with the Tweebs and the hair singeing episode.

All she could think of was the way those gleaming emerald eyes had been so… betrayed.

_Oh my … I…. I've treated her so badly, I… Didn't I learn my lesson with Ron? What is _wrong _with me and relationships I desperately want to work?!_

With what she had seen originally as completely justifiable anger now turning to misery, Kim moaned. She looked up into the tiny mirror and shook her head at the reflection that stared back, her green eyes shimmering with moisture, tears beginning to track down her smooth skin and she barely suppressed a sob.

_I… I've screwed us up before we'd even got started._

Unlocking the door, Kim pushed past the annoyed passenger who glared at her as she squeezed out of the small lavatory space, and walked slowly back to her seat.

_Maybe that graffiti in the Middleton girls' restrooms was true. 'Kim Possible, drain cleaner for relationships'. _

Sinking into the leather chair, barely noticing the eyes that slanted in her direction, taking note of the wet trickles down her face, Kim remained motionless for an hour, tears leaking down her face.

Ten minutes of silence later, the hero scrubbed roughly at the wetness on her cheeks and fisted her hands tightly, a look of steely determination on her face before standing up and taking a deep breath.

The look on her face made any of heads turning in her direction spin back to find something, anything, safer to look at.

_I've gotta put this right, because I'm not losing her over this… not over _MY_ issues. I love her too damn much!_

* * *

In the sky-bar, Shego sat at the curving line of lightweight metal tabletop; the thin barstool tucked tightly underneath, and stared moodily at the streaming clouds underneath the plane as they shot past the window next to her shoulder.

She raised her shot glass without bothering to check what type of alcohol was inside it and sucked the contents down in one go. The violent crunch of the ice cubes at the bottom of the glass had the few passengers around her glancing up in shock and mild alarm as the pale green woman chewed viciously.

_Damn it! Damn it all to hell and back! Goddamn Kimmie and her holier than thou attitude! And for what, a bitch who would have spat on her as much as given her the time. I stood up for her and look where it got me. Damn, damn, Kimmie!_

"Another!" She snapped at the barman who, having done this multiple times in the past few hours, silently reached down for the vodka and refilled the glass. "And leave the damn bottle!"

Concern flickered in his eyes for a second, but the barman shrugged and left a clear bottle of Russian vodka on the bar. He silently promised to keep an eye on the strangely coloured woman who continued to mutter and flick her gaze restlessly between the window and its view of crisp clear sky, and her shot glass.

"Turning me to drink, Princess, I hope you're happy," Shego muttered and then sneered into the distance. "Perfect little Pumpkin… I should'a steered well clear the first time I met her." Green eyes scowled. "I don't even like pumpkins… especially when they're in a pie!"

"Excuse me?" Asked the man next to her, surprised at the snarled whisper seemingly in his direction.

"I wasn't talking to you, okay?" The pale woman snapped at him, making the man flinch and pay exaggerated attention to the laptop he had brought with him.

Snorting, Shego turned back to staring at the shot glass in front of her, searching for the solutions to questions she hadn't even thought needed answers. The first and most demanding of which, was what the hell did she do about the situation that Kim had dropped them into?

Okay, yeah, okay. So _maybe _she'd gone a little too far with Silicon Stacy and her plans for swift revenge and satisfying victory against the little beach tart. Maybe flipping the Porsche into the pool had been one step too far, maybe. But still… she'd insulted Shego to the core and, worse, ripped into her Kimmie. In her opinion, she'd dealt with it just fine. 'Silicon Stacy' had deserved worse.

But of course little Ms Perfect was offended by how she'd dealt with it. Little Ms Perfect expected her to swallow insults like that and let some blond bitch insult the woman Shego had chosen to _be _with! And then Little Ms Perfect found out, which she wouldn't have if she'd just let Shego handle it and enjoy her _damn _holiday! The holiday Shego had made for Kim, the perfect holiday… just for her!

Annoyed, the green woman twisted to the man sitting next to her and waved a hand.

"So, you do something like this for her, try to prove that the days of you both pummelling each other, and placing her in mortal danger via villainous traps constructed by a crazy blue wiener-man, are over, and where does it get you? " She glanced over at the man next to her, green eyes wild, the effect of which was to cause him to freeze in her glare, like a deer caught in headlights.

Swallowing, he slid his laptop closed and as the insane and angry looking woman next to him seemed to expect a reply, stammered, "I… I dunno-"

"She tells you off like a kid! Snaps at you, tells you how 'disappointed' she is in how you can't control yourself, and that you've done something bad to someone. Even when it's to someone who goddamn well deserved it too!"

Shego snorted, lost in her own world. "Oh, and then she 'conveniently' forgets that you've always _been _a bad girl… that you _are _a bad girl, and that _bad_ girls makes her goddamn _wet_ because she can't be one herself! That's what she does! And that's _so_ not hypocritical of Princess Perfect, is it?!"

The sarcasm bit into her words like ice and another shot slammed its way down her throat.

"Plus, just to make it even more of a bum deal, I've gotta put up with a blond buffoon who has a power that comes from his greatest fear, a female reject from some Jackie Chan movie who's read every single fortune cookie proverb ever made, and a naked mole rat that seems to have more intelligence than his owner! And don't get me started on her twin brothers from hell. _How_ they managed to set my pride and joy on fire I'll never know! It resists plasma for goddamn sake, so… so… well, yeah!"

"I've… I have to…" The businessman next to her stood up, and swallowed as a hand tipped with razor sharp black nails shot out and grabbed the bowl of peanuts next to his wrist. With a scrape it slid across to the pale, raging woman, leaving faint trails in the metal.

"Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it… the aggravation, the annoyance. I mean, I've made changes, huge goddamn changes! I'm working for a group I used to work my ass of to stay away from. I've given up being a thie-" She broke off, hastily looking around, before her free hand tightened into a fist and an ugly, bitter, smirk flashed across her face. "Self employed security tester."

"Okay, okay, so I've not done that, but let's say I've changed how I use my skills. I'm being a, hah, fucking _good _girl now. I've swallowed my pride, swallowed the crap they've dished on me, the fucking looks I'm still getting even months later! I've worked so damn hard to be accepted by everyone that means a single goddamn thing to her! Even that one-eyed harpy she has the sparkle eyes for… we won't even go into the fact that Pumpkin doesn't have a clue how the real world works, how GJ works!"

"I… I…"

Ignoring the nervous stammer next to her, the green woman chomped peanuts and sloshed more vodka into her glass as though it had personally offended her in some way.

"Hell, why beat around the bush? I've changed _everything _I can change before I'm just no longer me but someone else! And what's she done in return? Eh! EH!!"

Part of her, the darkest part, yelled at her to leave. Fuck Kim! No relationship, even with the cute redhead, just was not worth the aggravation that she was experiencing. Besides, 'people' she'd leaned to her own bitter disappointment were eventually just no damn good. Sooner or later, they left or hurt you in some way that just couldn't be fixed. Her mother, her father, and eventually her own brother had proved this too her. But for some stupid, selfish reason, the softer part of her, the bit she left buried and often tried to ignore, had hoped that Kim might be different.

Hell, there'd been a connection between them even when they'd first met. Even while they had fought, pounded on each other, there had always been respect for each other, heck even more that neither wanted to act on.

But recently, all she seemed to be getting from Kim was uncertainty, and worse she wondered if it was uncertainly over them as a couple, as lovers.

_Uncertainty? Hell, that doesn't even cover the little fight we had, just so that I could convince her to come with me on this little jaunt! Most people would jump at a month's holiday to all the top resorts, with someone who, damn you, Kim, loves them and wants to make them happy!_

_Has she become that tired of me, that quickly?_

That thought came from deep within and the green thief hunched her shoulders in defence.

"I… who are we talking about?" The man, now regretting ever having come to the bar, let alone the plane, asked timidly.

"My Kimmie! And okay, I suppose I'm being a little unfair, I know." Shego growled, huffing and looking out of the window. "So, I know finding out that you prefer woman is a big 'teenage life crisis' giving deal. I can understand that, coping with it is a bastard sometimes. And yeah, I know dealing with the damn papers and all the crap they can shove on top of you when you're… popular is crappy enough."

"But that's not the point! She hasn't changed what she does, or who she is, or had to work to make amends when she's pretty damn certain she shouldn't have to! She's not had to deal from the bottom of the pack, knowing that the person opposite is a better card player, and know she'll probably end up regretting it one day." Shego's voice suddenly went very quiet, almost regretful if it had been from anyone else. "That she's never _ever_ been lucky enough for the good stuff to stay with her…"

The businessman, making a quick decision now that the crazy woman wasn't looking at him, backed away and scrambled as quickly as possible for the steps down to the business class cabin area. Not noticing this, Shego waved a hand at his vacated seat.

"You want a drink too? It's crappy to drink alone."

Not waiting for an answer, the green woman snapped yet another shot down her throat and this time the glass creaked under the stress her fingers applied onto the surface. But before she could pour another shot of the premium vodka, another hand slid over the lip of the glass and tightened gently.

"I think you've had enough of that… don't you?"

The quiet voice raised the hackles on the back of Shego's neck, and the green woman stiffened in her chair, refusing to turn around and face the woman that could, oh so easily, slip past her defences and hurt her if she did.

But, as her eyes slid almost of their own will across to where a shimmering set of paler sea green eyes stared at her face, Shego sighed inwardly. It seemed that when she decided to refuse to do anything for Kim, some part of her slid the word almost in front with sly ease.

_Every time I turn around… no matter where or why, there she is… when I do and don't need her. _Shego ruminated, as she turned away and sulked at how easily Kim could find her. _Like some two-legged bloodhound. Kimmie always knows how to find me. She finds it so very easy._

In fact, the green woman thought as the hand pulled the glass firmly out of her grasp, Kim could find her almost as easily as the hero could piss her off in ways she never thought, hah, possible.

_Damn it… nowhere to hide this time._

* * *

Kim gazed at the woman who had made her life both unpredictable and dangerous, and now made it even more unpredictable, but satisfying and exciting for completely different reasons. She was shocked to see just how badly their argument had affected the pale woman she loved.

Having had a sudden attack of reality forced onto her by the harshly amused discussion of the two air hostesses, the redhead had been forced to come to the conclusion that when it had come to putting the woman in her place, she'd had as much a hand as Shego had.

She had also come to rationalise that, when it came down to it, destroying a piece of property was a lot less… well, wrong, when compared to physically threatening the person in question with major bodily harm when you had dragged that person out of earshot.

And so Kim Possible had taken a good long look at how she had _punished _Shego with silence, the one thing she had instinctively known in some way that the green thief would be clueless in fighting against. She'd taken a good long look at her actions, had sat in her seat examining herself again and again, and after what felt like an eternity had come to a decision.

A quick trip to the food prep area at the back of the plane, followed by a pleading argument with one of the surprised air hostesses, and then ten minutes of very tricky work, ended with the redhead clutching a small box tightly to her chest and ignoring the curious glances from the other passengers, heading with some trepidation in the direction of Shego's location.

The mere act of walking up the steps to the bar had been quite daunting, even for a woman who saved the world on a regular basis. Whether it was due to her own apprehension at the way she'd spoken to Shego, or the look the thief had given her as she'd walked away, one full of anger and upset and betrayal, she couldn't tell. But, she did know that when she'd finally taken a deep breath and made her way up to the bar floor, the sight of Shego hunched over a bottle of alcohol had caused the guilt at her reaction, justified or not, to punch a ball of ice into her gut.

She barely took in the neat and modern style of design that formed the sky-bar, certainly didn't notice the thick blue carpet that silenced her footfalls as she walked quietly forwards, and the 1920's sculptures and light fittings were ignored. Kim was fixed on the figure at the far end of the small room, as far away and isolated from everyone else as possible.

_Shego…_

The dark haired woman she loved sat hunched at one end of the bar, and Kim had winced as she watched the barman fill shot-glass after shot-glass of what looked like premium vodka, and then her own fern green eyes had widened at Shego had banged the bar and gestured at the bottle with a snarled demand. Kim had felt her own hand clench slightly with worry as the man had shrugged, obviously not wanting to get involved in the young pale woman's misery, and left the bottle exactly where it was.

A bottle that was snatched up and tilted so that clear liquid sloshed into the small glass, overflowing and splattering onto the bar top as the bottle shook slightly in Shego's hand. That action alone made the redhead become more worried and apprehensive than she had been walking up the steps.

_How much have you been drinking, lover? And how much of that is due to me… to us…to what I've done to us?_

She'd listened to Shego's grumbled complaining to the man shifting uncomfortably next to her, watched as, with each shot of vodka, Shego had become more worked up about a certain redhead, and had seen her chance when the businessman had discreetly made a run for it. A chance she took by quietly walking up to the green woman and, as the bottle tilted once more towards the shot glass, she reached out with her free hand and slid it over the lip of the glass.

"I think you've had enough of that… don't you?"

Her heart dropped with the way Shego's back stiffened and the luscious dark locks of her hair hid her face as she dropped her head a few inches. Hesitant, Kim reached out and gently touched the back of the thief's neck, and closed her eyes in relief when the green woman shivered slightly, but did not pull away. Maybe things weren't as bad as she thought.

The thief's voice was quiet and, to Kim's dismay sounded weary. "Correct me if I'm wrong, little cheerleader, but I'm older than you. And because of this teeny weenie little point, I think I'd know if I've had enough or not."

Inwardly wincing, Kim nodded and quietly slipped into the seat next to the woman she loved. "I'd believe that, if it wasn't for one tiny point."

Shego slowly, oh so slowly, turned her head and Kim watched one gleaming emerald eye flick into life through the strands of black. The expression was one of resentment… and something else.

"And what tiny point would that be, Kimmie? I'm sure it's something that a bad, naughty, and quite evil thief, like me, needs pointing out from a perfect goodie two-shoes like you. So, come one, hit me with it." Shego stared at Kim and for some reason, possibly alcohol related; she let her resentment spill out. "I mean, I know how 'disappointed' you are with 'us', with me."

"Shego-" Kim whispered, upset and uneasy as her own words came back to haunt her.

"No, no… that was the word you used, right? 'Disappointed' I'm turning out to be a no good, uncontrolled, self-discipline lacking, waste of your time, right?!"

Kim's eyes widened in shock. _Oh, what have I done… stupid, stupid!_

"Still, I can understand why you feel that way though. You know, with how I defended your goddamn honour by eeevill stuff. Bad stuff that good girls don't mess with, no matter how much the bitch deserved it!" The words came fast, and blurred with emotion. "Still… at… at least you're talking to me now, right? Rules and lectures are better than the whole silent treatment I've been having!"

Turning away, Shego bit her lip and Kim watched her hand fist over the shot-glass once more as her voice became bitter. "So, come on Possible, get it over with. Tell me why I can't drink, and then later maybe we can go over some sort of ten step plan for making me the perfect, sweet, innocent, and_ boring_ lover you'd like. That's what you want, right?"

"No! God no!" Kim blurted, only to bite her lip at the burning gaze that slashed at her.

Shego snorted. "Screw it; you probably just wanna make me into one of your 'respectable' pals. How about we make me into Monique? 'BFF girl!!' or how about polite and 'it is my honour to giggle' Yori. Oh, fuck it. Why not make your life complete and turn me into good old dependable, dumbass Stoppable? Make me become anyone but who I am, right?! But I got news for you, Kimmie! I can't be anyone _but me_!!"

The green woman let out a huff of breath, and embarrassed at her outburst, looked away once more.

An uncomfortable silence slid into place between the two upset lovers.

For her part, Kim sat next to Shego, feeling numb. While she'd known that they had their… problems in this relationship, the outburst from the woman she loved had shaken the redhead. While she'd come to embrace and enjoy the fact she loved Shego, there were still parts of the woman next to her that Kim had trouble accepting.

_No, be honest to yourself, Possible. You haven't even tried to discuss, accept and move on with Shego about her being a thief. You've shied away from talking with her about it, papered over the problems, and never brought it up yourself. _

Kim sighed, making Shego glance over, and though her gaze was heated and angry, Kim could see the uncertainty she was trying to hide.

_Maybe I've never wanted to think about the big question. I mean, how _do _you come to terms with the fact that you've fallen big time for a woman who used to earn cash from assaulting you, theft, and generally being a pain to every single law enforcement agency you know?_

A thief, a mercenary, a contracted bodyguard for a super villain; the green woman had been all of those in her life, had met Kim because of them. And Shego had been well aware that Kim was vastly uncomfortable knowing she had such a past, or even worse for the redhead, maybe even fallen for her _because_ of what she'd been and done. The scent of a strong willed, kick-ass, bad girl… who may have shown a side of herself nobody else had seen.

Maybe it had been cowardice on her part, Kim admitted privately. The girl who could do anything, too scared to peel back why Shego was so attractive to her. But honestly, could she be blamed for that?

But then, Shego hadn't been the one keeping away from those problems. Indeed the thief had brought it up once or twice, uncomfortably but she had done, and it had been Kim herself who had told her each and every time that it wasn't something they needed to talk about. At least, certainly before Shego had sprung this vacation surprise on her, not something she'd wanted to discuss for a long time.

"Obviously I was wrong." The hero whispered.

"Oh really?" Shego muttered, mistaking Kim's whispered words as an answer regarding her copious alcohol consumption. "Wrong about what, exactly? Do tell."

"How about over how much I should apologise for how I acted?" Soft fingers curled around Shego's wrist, making her shiver. "I'm so sorry…"

The green woman felt the hero's other hand slide onto her left shoulder, and with a gentle tug, slowly rotated her seat until the redhead found herself looking into resentful, exotic, and shimmering emerald eyes.

"That I overreacted, that I got so caught up in what you did…" Kim watched as Shego's eyes flickered, a swirl of emotions that ended with them settling on accusation. She continued, the hand that gripped the wrist sliding up to gently rest on Shego's other shoulder. "That I never considered a far more important thing, out of all of this."

"What the hell does this have to do with-"

"What I forgot was _why_ you punished that awful woman." Kim leaned closer, her young face soft with regret, and it was the regret that had Shego stay utterly shocked. "And what that meant about _us_."

"Why I did what I did?" Black lips repeated, and then thinned with annoyance. "I did it all for you! Haven't you gotten that in your head already, or are you doubting that too?!"

"I know, but there's a problem," Kim admitted, and sighed, making the green woman blink. "And it's my own problem. Well, two problems actually."

"I'd like to say I give a damn, but I don't. I told you I don't wanna deal with this until we're at the hotel." Shego muttered.

She then fell silent, only to break it again within a few seconds, cursing the redhead and her effect on her. "Fine, wanna enlighten me, Possible?"

Inwardly, Kim winced at the use of her surname again. "I've got two problems being with you." Kim felt Shego stiffen, but continued quickly. "One is that I'm actually… well, a little image conscious. All those years being top dog at school, all the projects, cheerleader captain, and stuff, add in the whole saving the world and being a hero angle and, well… you know. A thief and a hero… not a good thing for the reputation."

"Well, well. You're actually admitting to me that you're vain?" Shego finally smirked and Kim felt a little relief at how natural it looked. "Could have told you that myself, little Miss Freshman."

"I've never considered it before. Though, well, it might be true." Kim admitted.

"Might…" Shego repeated with a bit of a huff and snort in her voice, and smirked again, the sight making Kim relax further.

The redhead nodded and held up a finger and thumb tightly pressed together. "A teeny bit… okay?"

"Okay," Shego nodded, and shifted ever so slightly on the chair. She may not have noticed, but Kim did, that her initially hunched and defensive body moved a tiny bit closer towards the hero, and her crossed arms moved to a comfortable slouch. "And the next?"

Kim scratched her arm for a second, and then hung her head, biting her lip. This was a big one. _Please understand me, Shego._

"I'm kinda hung up on trusting you…"

"Trusting me?" Shego repeated, but this time all amusement had left her voice and her back stiffened. "What kind of trust are we talking about, Kimmie? Trusting me not to steal the last chocolate left in the box trust, watching your back during a fight trust… or giving someone _everything_ that you are kinda trust?"

Kim closed her eyes, held up her hand and let three fingers uncurl as she remained silent. Shego felt her teeth grit.

_Six months, six months of goddamn dating and she's still fucking twisted up about us?! _

The thought was so painful to the green woman it felt_ as though someone had ripped a hole deep into her chest, had torn out her beating heart, and then tossed it in front of a fast moving truck. _

The redhead in front of her- still sitting there, quiet and ashamed -hurt even worse than Hego's betrayal all those years ago. Shego had never expected to feel such a sensation again, had grown a shell of such incredible thickness around her heart to prevent anything like it from _ever _happening to her a second time.

And then this… this, _teenager_ had shattered that shell into so many tiny fragments that the thief didn't know if she would be able to rebuild it even if she _wanted _to.

Her thin black lips opened, closed, opened again and then her voice creaked out in a pained dull and emotionless whisper, rather than the roar of anger she had been intending.

"You've _got_ to be fucking kidding me."

"No… and be fair, Shego, please!" Kim whispered. "We've never really, you know… talked about it, right? We both agreed to deal with it after the holiday."

"Which 'it'?" Shego muttered, but her heart was already sinking with suspicion and the head of rage hammering at her chest slowly began to ebb at the obvious upset her soul mate was in. She had a good idea what Kim meant, and absently pushed at the shotglass. "Shit… this is the 'it' I'd been hoping to avoid for a little while. Like fifty or sixty years."

Kim nodded. "I thought it wasn't a big deal…everything has been so amazing these past few months, but things have been nagging at me for a little." Her voice was rough, quiet, and uncertain. "My heart tells me that I can trust you… but… the rest of me… the rest of me feels differently about everything."

Kim slid into the stool next to Shego and quietly placed her hands onto the bar top. "Part of me, and god it's really deep down, just… panics at the thought of giving so much of who I am to someone who used to attack me, who _wanted _to kill me. And I can't help but feel that even if they've come to love me. But then that same part is fighting against the part that knows, _knows, _that every time you've, you know, said those words to me… you've meant it utterly. I know that."

"How?" Shego asked quietly. "Not to sound like I wanna ruin my chances of having a princess dog my every move for the rest of my life, and enjoy it in some sick way, but… how? How do you know it's the truth and not some sick puppy scheme I've dreamed up? I want… no, I damn well _demand_ an answer, Kimmie!"

I… I just do." Kim whispered. "It sounds like something right out of a teen romance, but I know you mean them, right down to the core of… of us."

Shego grimaced. "Urgh, that's damn sappy!"

"Very," Kim agreed. "But true as well. I don't know as much about your past as I want to, I don't know how we're going to deal with the horrible fact that we used to attack each other, and that we tried to hurt each other, but I do know you love me now… however it happened. I know it deep down that you do, and it fights against my uncertainty."

"But not enough for you to trust me…" Shego muttered. "Apparently even saving your life at the risk of my own, multiple times, doesn't cut it sufficiently." She sighed heavily. "If _that_ can't do it Possible, I don't know what will."

"I said I have issues…" Kim told her quietly and Shego looked up and found herself staring into sea green eyes. "I didn't say I knew how to fix them… all I know is that I love you back and I want to try and fix this."

"Okay, so to partially defuse how _immensely_ pissed I am with you about all this, you intended to try and bring up our relationship troubles, add a dash of romantic mush, promise that we'll sort it all out, add some rainbows and fairy drops, and hope that everything will be okay? Shego rolled her eyes, her tone acidic. "That'll work."

"No, I'm trying to explain, not excuse, how I reacted to what you did." Kim looked up. "That Stacy woman was the trigger to something that even you mentioned was still simmering underneath."

"Woo for me being right." Shego muttered, and then sighed. "This holiday is turning into a pain in the ass thanks to you."

"Hey, I said I have issues, Shego, but I'm not going to take total responsibility for all this!" Kim rapped her hand on the bar and the green woman hunched slightly. "Let's not forget something here. You lied to me, you know." She watched the thief stiffen. ""You lied, you did stuff you knew I'd disapprove of, and you went about hiding it. And you hid it because you knew how I'd feel…"

"Look, she was a bitch and had it coming so-"

"Yeah, she did. "Kim nodded. "I've just spent hours alone downstairs figuring that out, and doing some major soul searching too. And while I've also come to terms with that you did it for us… for me, that doesn't change the fact you lied to my face after you promised to try and cut this thieving attitude out."

"I did only say I'd _try_…" Shego managed, wincing as Kim's soft eyes narrowed slightly before the teen stood up and walked over, her hands sliding softly onto Shego's shoulders. The thief felt her tense muscles slacken and she groaned. "Look, Pumpkin, it's hard to stop myself sometimes. I see a problem, I deal with it. In my own way. "

Kim nodded, the movement unseen by Shego, and her fingers continued to knead the strong flesh of the woman who was both amazing and infuriating to her. "Well, I'll have to just do one thing now then, won't I?""

The exotic vixen in front of her frowned. "What the hell does that mea-"

Shego trailed off as the hands that had been gently kneading her shoulders moved slightly and she felt a small pressure as the bar stool rotated until the thief came face to face with the redhead who had stolen her heart. Those same hands slid upwards, and she felt a subtle pressure play across her skin as they cupped her face lightly, and tilted it back. Long silken strands of green hair, so dark it was almost a gloss black, washed across one of her eyes, only for Kim to reach up and lightly brush the strands clear.

"I love you… it's insane, but I love you so very much."

It completely threw her, and Shego felt her anger and annoyance with Kim drain into utter confusion. "Kimmie, what're you-"

"Reminding you, myself as well, of what we have together and making sure you keep your promise to stop being such a thief around me… unless we need you to be one as part of a mission of course."

"Damn bribery I call it." Shego narrowed her eyes and then shivered as Kim's breath ruffled her hair. "I said I'd try! _Try_, Kimmie, that's all!"

"Yes, you did." Kim whispered, and as Shego opened her mouth to hotly snap back at her, she found the redhead's young lips gently sliding onto hers.

The kiss was hot, needy, and almost painfully passionate. And yet at the same time, the lips on her own darkly painted ones were so very gentle, and so tender it made the green woman's head spin.

Eventually, Kim leaned back, her lips gleaming from their shared kiss and she stared into Shego's eyes once more. A hazy, delighted expression met her own gaze and the redhead tilted her head as she stepped back, her own becoming more serious.

"I promise to work on my trust issues…I swear I'm going to do everything to make us work. Heck knows you're worth it." Kim murmured. "But you have to promise me one thing… just one thing."

Sobering a little from the thrill Kim had shocked her with Shego focused and growled, her tone a not too subtle warning. "I'm not changing another thing about myself, Kimmie!"

"I'm not asking you to, Shego." Kim looked down, and Shego look on, dumbfounded, as Kim's voice became soft and humble. "I know I've already asked so much… I just never thought about it. You can put it down to my Kimness if you like. Even Ron and Mon know that I've got a major blind spot that I just can't see." The cheerleader leaned forwards and Shego sank into another intense kiss that broke far too quickly for her liking. As she felt her head fall back, Shego watched Kim bite her lip and then continue. "All I'm asking is that you really make sure, darn sure, that you're right in using your skills for any situation."

"You mean stealing, or fighting, or being cunningly deceptive." Shego told her, a small portion of her usual confident tone trickling back into her voice and smirking despite herself.

Ignoring the bait, Kim simply tugged her close and rested her head on the green woman's broad shoulders. "Just make sure there's no alternative that's not just as effective. Like telling the truth maybe?"

"Spoilsport…" The green woman told the redhead and then grinned, the pain she'd been feeling lessening by a huge amount. "But I'll try as long as you promise me, Pumpkin, to chill before you blow your cute little redhead top if I do… sin a little."

"A little." Kim deadpanned, while inside she cheered at the faint smile on Shego's exotic features. "Okay, I can do that, for my one and only bad girl. As long as it only is a _little _sinning."

"And you know it." Shego told her, her smirk returning without it feeling strained for the first time in two days. Feeling Kim relax and shift slightly into a more comfortable position, the thief reached up and stroked Kim's hair. "Sooo… does this mean our first major relationship crisis is over?"

"Tabled right now, I think. For later examination and both of us trying to hammer out something to deal with what caused it." Kim, indulging in the same wonderful sensations she always felt as she ran her fingers through Shego's elegant mane of hair, nodded lazily, even as her voice failed to hide the utter relief she felt. "But for the moment, we're on holiday. You'll try to be slightly more, well let's say considerate. I've promised to try and not obsess much over the whole 'I've fallen for a thief' stuff. Yeah, I'd say we're okay right now. Anything else isn't important enough to deal with until we get home."

Blinking with sudden remembrance, Kim smiled faintly and reached over, pulling closer the small white box she had been clasping tightly before things had become heated and held it out. Emerald eyes suspicious, Shego simply raised an elegant eyebrow.

"Peace offering," Kim explained simply, shaking the box ever so slightly. "It's part of my apology to you for being a little inflexible."

"A little?" Shego repeated, glancing at Kim and watched with even greater relief as red crept over the young woman's cheeks.

"Okay, a lot more inflexible. I'm sorry for being a little too rigid in my morals."

"So you're saying sorry for being a hero! I find that very appealing right now." Shego purred quietly and Kim Possible, now nineteen, and someone who had faced everything from mutant cockroaches to killer cyber bots flushed even deeper.

"It's not fair. You always make me feel…"

"What?" Shego grinned cheekily. "Not drunk, you need what I've been drinking to have that."

"I… well, inexperienced, and clumsy, okay?!" Kim let out a huff of worry and exasperation. "Like now for example. I never know where I stand with you, I never feel confident that I'll know how to do the right thing in our relationship. I hate making mistakes like this."

The thief smiled lazily. "You said you didn't care about your image." At Kim's silence, Shego chuckled and turning her attention to the white box, shook it slightly. "So, what's in the box, Pumpkin? Something good I hope, considering you owe me for being a bitch earlier… so it's payday."

"You'll think it's stupid…" Came the muttered reply. "And I'm not the only one who screwed up and has been acting a bitch either."

Black lips smirked as their owner took in the bright red flush across the cheeks of the woman in her grasp, and Shego felt utter satisfaction as Kim stuttered into mortified silence as her lover popped the lid and flipped up the cardboard slowly.

"Now then… what have we here-"

It was Shego's turn to stutter into silence as she stared at the contents of the box.

Inside sat a single cupcake, nestled on what looked like the remains of the towletts the stewardesses gave out with drinks, finely shredded. The cupcake itself was nothing special, but the pale green icing, and a single red heart inked on top of that with the letters S and P carefully written in what looked like felt-tip, had the green woman blinking in utter bemusement.

She looked up and Kim was treated to a rare event. Shego was completely baffled.

"I… I really have no idea what to say." She glanced down at the cupcake once more. "You did this?"

"Well, I asked the stewardesses to help me. I can't go wandering around the prep area myself. Also I had no idea where anything was." Kim felt the blush creeping up her neck and cursed how easily it came to her. "I, um, suggest you don't eat it though. I used the felt-tips from a kids welcome pack on the icing; it said non toxic but…"

"Pumpkin, do you have any idea how… corny this is." Shego mumbled, turning the box gently around to get a closer look. "It's like some sort of edible prom date gift… in a really weird way."

"You don't like it do you?" Kim sniffed, scowling faintly. "For your information I worked hard on that. It took me ages to colour in the icing and draw the heart you know. As for getting the stuff to do it, well-"

The redhead broke off as she found a set of green arms slowly encircling her waist, and looked up to see Shego staring down at her, an amused smile playing around her lips. "I think it's very… you, Kimmie."

"What? What'd you mean very 'me'?!" Kim demanded.

"It's small, cute, a little too sugary for my tastes, somehow funny-" Shego began to list the reasons and Kim's face began to go a darker shade of red, almost to a purplish colour, until the thief paused and shrugged. "And for all those reasons, as well as far too many sappy ones for me to have any desire to mention, I love it. Just like I love you."

"I… okay, that is one of the most backward and sarcastic ways of saying 'I love you' I've ever heard. Plus you haven't said thank you."

"Nah, I don't see it like that… not like that at all, and as for a thank you, it's an apology." Shego pointed out as she stood and stretched lazily. "You punished me… a lot."

"Look-" Kim began, but broke off as Shego took a step forwards and absentmindedly folded the box closed and tucked it under her arm. The simple act had the redhead realising that her lover had already accepted the gift, no matter how amused she was. "Okay, well, I can live with that." Another thought struck the redhead. "We'll be landing soon, and you've been drinking a lot up here. Do you need any help to, you know, get back to your seat?"

"Don't get your little pumpkin head all worked up, Kimmie." The green woman chuckled, smirking at her. "Sadly, no matter how good the hangover would have been, my little drunken periods don't last for very long." Shego tapped the side of her nose. "My power does something to speed up recovery. Personally I think it's a pain in the ass. Especially if I was drinking as much as possible in order to forget how my lover had just attempted to scoop out my heart with a rusty spoon."

"I never meant to-"

"Umm, miss Possible?"

Kim turned at the quiet and urgent whisper from behind her back and stared at the obviously frightened stewardess who had spoken. Something about the way the woman was frantically wringing her hands and glancing around had Kim realising that this was more than going to see the captain to sign a few autographs, as had happened the last few times, much to her girlfriends mild annoyance and obviously strained tolerance.

"If you're worried about us damaging the bar area, don't be. Everything's fine." Kim began, only for the woman to step closer.

"It's nothing to do with… your obviously personal issues, miss Possible."

Shego let go of Kim slowly, other arm still tucked under her cupcake box, and rolled her eyes. "Pumpkin, just sign whatever book, paper, leaflet, ticket, or body part she thrusts at you and let's go, okay? We've got serious stuff to discuss. If she wants a kiss, fine, but no damn tongues!"

"Oh for the love of…" Trying to be polite, the redhead angled her head so she could see the stewardess, and smiled in apology. "Sorry about that. What can I do for you?"

"The, ah, captain was asking if you could come to the cockpit for a few minutes." The stewardess wrung her hands even faster. "He said it was important, very important."

"Uh uh, no way!" Shego snapped, glaring at the woman in annoyance. "Look, Ms Possible and I have things to… discuss, important things. In fact we've just gotten to the good part, the making up. In fact, Kimmie here owes me at least two making ups, maybe even three."

"Shego!" Kim hissed. "Try to show a little goodwill right now, okay?"

The green woman rolled her eyes. "You're no fun at _all_ today." But she sighed and waved a hand. "Fine, go ahead."

"Okay, so what's wrong?" Kim asked the woman quietly, and the stewardess, with Catherine on her name tag, bit her lip.

"Nothing's wrong… the, ah, captain wants you to join him in the cockpit… as quickly and quietly as possible."

Shego, who had caught the last few words, raised an eyebrow in interest. "So it _is _more autographs! Kimmie, you'll have to print a stamp soon if they keep this up."

"Not now, Sheeg." Kim waved a hand, and Shego narrowed her eyes as she realised the woman she loved had gone into a familiar stance and expression. An annoying one too, in her opinion.

Mission mode.

"Oh come on!" The thief complained, before letting her shoulders slump at the excited and heroic expression, framed by bright red hair that turned in her direction. "Fine," she turned to the stewardess. "Lead on, trolley-dolly."

"The captain said I was to bring Ms Possible. He didn't say anything about you …" Catherine muttered, and then paled as the green woman smirked unpleasantly. "Even if you are Ms Possible's, um… friend."

"I prefer 'corruptor of the innocent' myself," Shego smiled toothily. "It had a certain ring to it and-"

"Knock it off, Sheeg." Kim interrupted and turned to Catharine, her expression firm. Her voice lowered to a subtle professional whisper that even Shego had to crane to hear. "Listen, from the way you keep glancing around and trying not to panic, it's pretty obvious you need Team Possible, right?"

The steward swallowed and nodded slightly.

"Okay, I guessed as much. Well, right now Team Possible is myself and Shego… so lead us to the cockpit and try to stay calm." Cracking her knuckles, the redhead glanced over at Shego. "Coming?"

Shego sighed and shrugged her shoulders, the very image of resignation. "Lead on, Kimmie and where you lead, we green women shall follow… even when we know it's a bad idea and probably means no pumpkin pie this evening."

"Oh, good grief…" Kim quickly muttered under her breath, and strolled off, Catherine scuttling in front of her. Behind, the green woman smirked and ambled after her, feeling far more cheerful than she had in days.

An attitude that was short lived at the brief few sentences that explained why Team Possible had been called to the cockpit echoed around the small room as Kim and Shego both stared at the small group in front of them.

"What?!" Shego snapped at the captain, a large New Yorker dressed in an immaculate flight suit and who also sported an incredibly calm demeanour. "You've got to be fucking _kidding _me!"

"I'm afraid not, Ms Shego. This would be why I asked the air staff to bring Ms Possible in here. Of course, if the passengers knew that our landing gear was stuck we'd have a mass panic on our hands."

"Why _is _the gear stuck exactly?" Kim asked, already typing away on her Kimmunicator with intent. The small device chimed repeatedly to her, and as her fingers flew over the keys, Shego noticed a small wire frame representation of the plane they were in flicking into life.

"We don't know. None of the fault indicators are working except for the fact we know there _is _a failure in the system. We've tried pinpointing the source, but the best we can do is that it's in the hydraulics somewhere." The captain told Kim in the same calm tone. "David said that he thought he felt a bump on his side of the plane during takeoff, but all the dials were in the green, so we carried on."

"Hmm…" Kim glanced over at Shego and was surprised to see the green woman muttering in annoyance to herself. Shaking her head, the hero turned back to the men in the cockpit. "Okay, so it's pretty obvious I'll need to have a look at it. How long until landing?"

"An hour. I've cleared us to circle if needed, but we'll have to do something up here. It's not like they can send an engineer, and I'm not going to risk an emergency landing unless there's no other choice. I've ordered us to fly as low as we dare to allow anyone attempting a repair as much of a chance as we can given them, but there's nobody skilled at doing anything like this."

"Except Team Possible, maybe." Kim replied, and nodded at the Kimmunicator as the tiny device, which had all this time been querying the in-flight computers of the plane's systems, highlighted a few specific points of the wire frame version in red. "Well, looks simple enough. Won't even need to call Wade as I've seen this problem before when I was helping dad with some flight tests for the space agency. I'd best have a look."

As she turned, Kim blinked in surprise as a green hand clamped tightly onto her forearm and, looking up, stared into the annoyed face of the woman she loved. "Shego, what is it now?"

"You know, _this_ really pisses me off." The green woman snapped, before letting out a huff of breath and letting Kim go. Her arms slid across her breasts and Kim could almost swear the woman was about to pout. "In fact, this is the _first _thing I want dealt with when we have our little chat. We're on vacation, Kimmie, so this stuff has to stop!"

"What _are _you talking about?"

"This sort of thing!" Shego waved a hand. "Honestly, Pumpkin, It's getting to the point where it's becoming annoying, even though I love you!"

Kim frowned, anxious to get moving just as much as - she could feel behind her- the crew were. "I don't know what you mea-"

"Stuff like this! The fact that chaos springs up around you and you have to do the hero crap, no matter where we go!" Shego exclaimed, her tone exasperated. "Just once, I'd like us to go somewhere on this vacation where _you_ don't end up somehow saving the lives of hundreds of people. Worse, you always end up dragging _me_ into the middle of it at the same time, ruining my reputation as a hard ass mercenary. It's getting embarrassing!"

Grinning suddenly, and feeling the solid foundations of why she loved the green woman in front of her, the redhead shrugged. "I think you _like _the fact that I'm a bit of a lightening rod when it comes to chaos. You enjoy the fighting and adventure deep down."

"Oh… that's bull!" Shego muttered, while secretly admitting Kim had a point.

"Also, I seem to recall one act of chaos introduced me to a certain green woman standing really close to me. Besides, you've got to admit that our lives together aren't boring!"

"But… we're on holiday." Shego protested, trying to ignore the tiny flicker of excitement dancing around the base of her spine at the thought of the adrenaline rush she'd experience with Kim. "I like to relax on holiday, Kimmie."

"This is just a quick drop down to the fuselage, a clamber down frozen metal piping, and a few blasts with the laser lipstick. No big at all and actually sounds kinda fun!"

And with that, Kim dashed out of the cockpit, chuckling. Behind her, the green woman sighed deeply, and tugged lightly on the black and green gloves covering her hands. Despite the grim situation, like the redhead, a sly smile tugged the edge of her mouth as she pelted after the young hero.

"That's not the point!" the crew in the cockpit heard her argue as she went through the hatch. "Seriously though, Pumpkin. Have you ever considered that you may be jinxed, or cursed in some way for this stuff to _always _happen to you?"

"It doesn't happen _all_ the time!" Kim's voice faintly countered and the crew heard one final comment from her partner before they faded down into the depths of the plane and the access hatch hissed shut behind them.

"Uh huh. I say, anyone who can have Lobsteria 'ruler of short crustaceans' attack the pleasure yacht she, and her considerate and loving girlfriend are on… in the middle of the goddamn _ocean _as well, may I add, has got to have really, _really,_ bad luck!"

* * *

Middleton

"Doctor Director, Sir?"

Betty Director looked up from the report she was perusing and raised an eyebrow at the annoyed face of Will Du standing in her doorway.

"What is it Will?"

"I have Ron Stoppable on line three for you. Apparently, he needs to discuss something very urgent. So urgent in fact," Will sniffed "that he was unable to tell me about it. Normally I'd tell anyone saying this to follow the normal channels, but this is-"

"Kim's sidekick, and let's not forget that Mr Stoppable has been very helpful to us as well." Betty put the report down and turned to her communications system. "Thank you, Will. I'll take it from here."

"Yes Sir."

Doctor Director waited until Will left the office and the quiet click of her door locking behind him reached her before she pressed a few buttons.

"Hello, Ronald, how can Global Justice help you today?"

"Um, hi Doctor Director." The voice that came across her communication centre was vaguely worried and Ron's expression on the screen was less than happy. "Ah, I wonder if you could do me a favour."

Betty's single eye rose and she tilted her head. "What sort of favour? If it is something both Kim's vast reservoir of favours and the technical prowess of Mr Load cannot assist with, then I will admit you have intrigued me."

"I was wondering if you could tell me if Yori is on some sort of secret mission for GJ."

"Mr Stoppable, if Yori was on a mission of secrecy for Global, then I would be unable to divulge such information to you unless I decided Team Possible's skills were needed. Considering that Kim is on vacation and unavailable unless the situation is life threatening, that would be a very unique set of circumstances."

Ron scratched his head. "Um, yeah… I…"

Betty sighed and watched as the small pink object sitting on Ron's shoulder just in view of the pickup slapped a small hand across its face. "What I mean, Ronald, is that I haven't sent Yori on any mission for GJ. As far as I was aware since our communication breakdown, she's still at the language centre and as they finish work within office hours she should be with you."

"She wasn't with me last night." Ron blurted out the words, worry forcing a small amount of panic into his voice. "She wasn't with me and I can't get her to answer her mobile phone!"

Doctor Director frowned. Yori _wasn't_ on any mission for Gj that she was aware of, but with the communication system being down, and due to an organisation of GJ's size, they were still phoning around the centres linked to Global in any position, from ultra importance down. International diplomacy and foreign languages was right at the bottom of the list. There was every chance that maybe Yori had been called away by a GJ agent. It had happened before to another languages expert… and Betty had never heard the end of it from him either. So maybe…

"I'm sorry Ronald, but I can assure you I know nothing of any GJ mission. But I will say that we had a little problem crop up recently here and-"

"Yeah, Wade told me your networks are down." Ron shrugged as the one-eyed woman scowled slightly. "Hey, it's not like he hacked your system or anything, even though he could."

"Then how-"

"Ah, I think he said Team Possible uses the GJ network for international communication and email type stuff… even I remember that. And it is correct, right?"

Betty blinked, adjusting her thoughts as she realised that Ron truly had no idea of the devastation GJ had been through. If he had, then Yori's disappearance, more than likely completely unassimilated with this cowardly attack by the Jade, would have worried him even further.

"I see. Well, as I was saying, Ronald. GJ hasn't ordered Yori to do a mission as far as I am aware. However, I will advise you that Global does have agents coming in to obtain resources and personnel on an ad hoc basis."

"Okay, that I get." The blond teen looked up at the ruined and dilapidated warehouse that Wade's transponder signal had led him to.

The area it sat in was less than disreputable. In fact, coming to the warehouse he'd been offered more types of sex, much to his embarrassment, than he'd wished to count, along with drugs, weapons, and the same old goods that had 'fallen of the back of a truck'. It was only the fact that everyone knew he was Kim Possible's sidekick that kept them from attacking, kidnapping or sexually assaulting him. Of course, if anyone had they would soon have discovered that being a Tai Sheng master meant Ron didn't need Kim's help to stay safe.

Frowning at the building and once again staring down at the pulsing dot that marked his Japanese lover, Ron looked at the small window holding Betty Directors face. "But if she's not on a mission, then for some reason she's at an abandoned warehouse just outside Lowerton. I'm here now and it seems empty."

Betty leaned forwards, mouth pursed with worry. "Ronald, I don't think you should be there, and you certainly shouldn't go in. Well, definitely not alone at least."

"But this is my girlfriend we're talking about," Ron waved a hand. "You've sent myself and Kim into way more dangerous places than this. Why can't I go in alone?"

The one-eyed spy sighed and was about to explain that she usually let Ron go into dangerous situations because there was a certain heroic, and oddly almost impossibly can-do, cheerleader who always had his back. But then she recalled the assault on Drakken's lair, and the fact the young blonde had almost died trying to protect and rescue his friend and the women who had tried to kill him on many occasions.

Instead of advising him to wait, she nodded slowly. "Very well Ronald. I suppose it's your call after all. Yori's special to you and I suppose if I was in such a situation I'd not be waiting around either. Just… be careful. Oh, and please call me if you do find her. I'd like to know what she was doing there as well."

"Okay Doctor Director, I'll do that. Don't tell Kim though, she needs the vacaction and I don't see the need to worry her about this. It's probably nothing special and I'll find Yori's just following up some lead or something. So, don't tell Kim."

"Of course I won't, Ronald. As for yourself, try to stay out of trouble. At the first sign of anything, call me back."

Ron nodded absent mindedly. "What sort of trouble are we talking about exactly?"

Betty glanced down at her desk and the bright red file marked 'Jade' with a concerned eye. "Nothing for the moment. But with Kim gone, and Shego as well… and now Yori wandering about in the middle of the night, you can never be too sure. Just... keep an eye out, Ronald."

"I will, see you Doctor Director."

Betty watched the face vanish from the screen and she frowned in worry.

_Why do I suddenly feel like we've all gone from the frying pan into the fire... and that the final hand hasn't even been played yet?_

* * *

Lowerton

Standing in an abandoned carpark, Ron flicked a switch on his Roncom and watched as Betty Directors face nodded once and then vanished with a flicker. Pocketing the Roncom, he glanced across at Rufus. "Well, buddy, just you and me for this one."

"Uh huh." Rufus muttered, and shrugging, waved a small paw in the direction of the warehouse itself.

Nodding, the blonde sidekick wandered up to the rusted goods and services door and knocked loudly a few times. "Hello? Hellooooo? Anyone at home?" At the silence that replied, he glanced over at Rufus again. "Um, nobody's home. But if so, then why's Yori not answering me?"

"Dunno."

"You know, buddy, I'm getting a really bad feeling about this."

The mole rat scampered down his master and ran across to the door, intent on seeing if it was locked. Both teen and pet glanced at each other with dismay as the door clicked open at the application of the molerat's paw.

"Uh oh… not good." Rufus squeaked.

"Okay, bad vibes going off the _scale _here. It's like that episode of Dawn of the Flesh Eating Nude Biker Chicks from Pluto." Ron whispered, swallowing nervously. "Ruf, I don't know if I could bring myself to decapitate Yori with a potato peeler."

Rolling his small eyes, Rufus peered around the door and frowned at the musty and empty expanse that met his gaze. Pulling back he looked up at Ron and shook his head. "Empty, uh huh."

"Empty?" Ron blinked and pushed at the door gingerly. It squeaked a little as it slowly swung into the darkened room, a sure sign of little maintenance over the years. Poking his own head into the doorway, Ron frowned at the same sight that met him like Rufus. "Okay, this is just weird."

Stepping inside, the teen glanced around. The warehouse was roughly the size of a football field and about fifteen metres high. Grime streaked windows set into the corrugated aluminium roof let in dull and green tinged light, which bounced off fifty or so barrels arranged around the room. Kicking one, Ron heard it make a faint clanging sound, a sure sign that it was empty and he shook his head.

"Why'd Yori come here? If there's anything of interest around this place I'll eat my own trousers."

"Hey!" Rufus replied, yanking gently on Ron's cheek and pulling his face around to the middle of the warehouse. Pointing, the mole rat indicated a small square shape sitting on a small trestle table. "Something…"

"What on earth is that?" Ron muttered. "Good job, little buddy."

Gingerly, the teen made his way over to the small shape and, as he grew closer and was able to see more details in the gloomy light, worry for Yori gripped his heart. "Oh no…"

The shape turned out to be a small, cheap, DVD and television combo unit. Taped to the television screen, daubed in elegant script were the words 'play me!' Beside it, propped carefully against the plastic façade of the television sat the small and blood streaked shape of Yori's mobile phone. The LCD screen was still lit on the device, and as Ron reluctantly pulled out his Roncom and flicked it on, the beeping dot matched a quiet responding chime from the Ninja's phone.

Slowly, Ron reached out to the television and, yanking the paper and tape off the screen, hit the play button. With a flicker, the screen lit and the picture on it was of a face Ron knew all too well, much to his dismay. A face which, if it hadn't been for the insane grin of smug superiority, would have looked gaunt and twitchy as it continued to smile at the blonde teenager.

Monkey Fist. De-stoned and still as ragingly insane as before.

"Hello, Stoppable; you pretender to the Throne of Supreme Monkey Ruler!" The words were hissed from the speaker with venom and Ron watched in silence, knowing that Rufus was doing the same. They both knew the person on the screen, and both knew the danger Yori was in could only be deadly if he was involved. "I know it'll be you that is playing this message. Your little redheaded whore has decided green skin and a sarcastic temperament is preferable to yourself I understand, so it won't be her. As for Global Justice… well, we both know they are less than, efficient, in dealing with people like myself."

Ron glowered at the screen. The jibe at Kim had hit his heart, even if the comments about himself had left him cold. He'd come to terms with what had happened a long time ago. Having one of the sexist Japanese women he'd ever met wishing to spend time with him as a lover had helped as well.

"Regardless, you will now be standing here, hoping to see the little ninja prostitute you exchanged her for. Sadly, Yori isn't able to be there, Ronald, as she is here at my new lair, enjoying my… hospitality."

The camera zoomed out and Ron felt his chest ache with sudden pain as it focused on the form of Yori herself. The young Ninja was chained in the middle of a stone courtyard, her clothing ripped and torn, grime and blood streaking her face, hair and limbs as she looked back at the camera in utter exhaustion.

"Say hello, Yori my dear."

"Ronald… my love…" Yori managed, licking parched lips and, Ron noticed, trying to focus her dark almond eyes- the shape of which he adored- onto the camera. "Trap… don't come."

"Well of course he knows this is a trap, my dear." Monkey Fist loped into view. "He's stupid, aren't you Stoppable, but not _that _stupid. Regardless, as you can see, she has little time left. I'll be keeping her alive for a while, but not forever."

"Bastard…" Ron whispered, and he heard an agreeing quiet squeaking growl from his shoulder.

"Listen carefully, Stoppable, as you have very little time." Monkey Fist smirked. "We're going to play a little game and the stakes are very high. Lose or deviate from instructions I shall give you and, well… let's say you'll be receiving Yori back very quickly. Via parcel mail in fact."

Monkey Fists face broke into peals of laughter and Ron swore that the next time he met the man, teeth would be exchanged for those words via his fists.

Getting a hold of himself, Fist grinned evilly. "On this DVD there are instructions your little fat friend Wade will be able to access. Solve the puzzle and you'll go to the first… challenge I've set for you. Win that and you'll get the second puzzle and another area with another challenge. This will hold a final puzzle that will lead you to my location and your dear, suffering little ninja whore." Fist chuckled. "The prize for getting here will be to battle myself and die at my hands, but you can set Yori free first, she means little to my plans in the end. It is _you_ I want Stoppable."

"You'll get me, Fist." Ron whispered. "I'll be happy to give you that."

"Now, the rules." Fist leered. "Firstly, there is to be _no_ communication with Kim Possible in _any _form and for _any _reason! I warn you, Stoppable, that I have… friends who are keeping an eye on this for me. The very second I hear that you have spoken to her, and I kill Yori in the slowest, bloodiest and most painful way I can think of. Understand?"

"Jesus, Fist… being turned to stone hasn't helped your grip on sanity at all."

"Second, you can explain the situation to Global Justice and your podgy little friend. I have no doubt you'll be needing transport to get to where I am residing at the moment. However, the first rule applies to them as well. _Believe _me Stoppable… I _will _know and I _will_ kill her!" The man ranted on the screen, specks of saliva splashing the glass. "And once I've killed her, I'll kill you!"

"I think he's finally snapped completely, Rufus." Ron shook his head. "Yori, I'm coming for you, I promise."

"Lastly, you will do this alone. I want _nobody_ aiding you other than in transport and the puzzles. When it comes to the tests, it'll be you on your own. Oh, the _pink_ thing can come with you if you wish."

"Hey!" Rufus growled. "Nekked Mahl Rat!"

"Those are the rules, Stoppable. The game is on and winner takes all. Do hurry though; I don't think Yori will be able to last without your company for very long. Oh, and to prove I'm _not _joking about the rules, there'll be a little… surprise for you once the DVD ejects. So, the game begins…"

With that, the screen went black and Ron reached down to pick up the silvery DVD that the DVD combo device spat out from its slot. As he slid it into his pocket, the screen of the device flashed and lurid green numbers shimmered into view. Ron recognised them as a countdown as they began to flicker downwards. He'd also been in too many evil madmen's lairs to be ignorant about what a countdown meant.

"Ah, crap!!"

Dashing for the warehouse door, Ron quickly checked to make sure that Rufus was with him, nodding as his questing hands found the mole rat sitting in his pocket, knowing better than to put himself somewhere he could be knocked off during a mad dash for survival.

As he reached the door and flung himself through it, he felt a displacement of air smack into him from behind, pushing his body though the entrance and into the dirt. The resounding crump of a detonation reached his ears, even as he picked himself up and continued to run, heading for the wide open car parking area around the building.

The second blast came quickly, another shockwave slamming so hard into his spine it forced Ron into the dirt for a second time. The roar of multiple explosions reached his ears this time and the blonde teen turned over in time to see the entire rundown building vanish in an expanding fireball that rained down timber, masonry and hunks of aluminium.

And as he watched, Ron knew Monkey Fist was deadly serious in his threat towards Yori's life.

It was a good job that Ron's love for the ninja was just as serious and blue eyes narrowed in the flickering yellow gleam of the flames.

"Game on indeed… but you're not going to like the outcome, Fist."

To be continued…

**Yes, sorry everyone for the LONG hiatus. I have no excuse except to say that I have a girlfriend now, and she is wonderful. :) But I'm still writing. Also, witht he credit crunch, I like many others found life interesting for a while. it's settled a lot now, but we'll have to keep playing it by ear for the moment. **

**So, as usual, please review, but could we have more than "wow" or "crap". If you don't like it, tell me why... otherwise, how can I improve?**

**Yours, The Hob.**


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